The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-cultural Association, Saleh Alhassan, has claimed that political actors are behind the crisis plaguing Plateau State.
He made the claim during an appearance on Channels Television on Friday.
Speaking on issues of national security and herder-farmer relations, Alhassan rubbished narratives that foreign herders are responsible for the recent killings across the Middle Belt.
He said, “The notion and narrative of foreign herders is a distraction. It is a continuation of efforts to deny Nigerian herders their citizenship and a major challenge to achieving peace, especially concerning the farmers-herders conflict.
“I schooled and grew up in Plateau, so I know the root causes of these crises. The recent conflict in Bokkos, for instance, started over a motorcycle theft, not grazing or land use. But suddenly, every conflict is labelled a farmer-herder clash.
“If Governor Caleb Mutfwang wants to be sincere, he knows this conflict is political. There is a clear agenda to expel herders from Plateau State. His political godfather, former Governor Jonah Jang, has been a driver of that narrative, and it has been renewed again.”
Alhassan also condemned what he described as the use of ethnic militias disguised as vigilantes, stating that peaceful herders are often left with no choice but to resort to self-defence.
He said, “Peaceful herders have no business with banditry.
“But when governors abandon conventional law enforcement and empower ethnic militias, injustices are committed against herders. In such a setting, herders resort to self-help.”
The secretary accused some politicians of weaponising the insecurity for personal gain and insisted that criminality must be addressed directly and without ethnic bias.