More than 18,640 herders have been killed across 17 states in the last decade, the national president of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has said, warning that kidnappings and cattle theft are now threatening the lives and livelihoods of pastoral families.
Speaking with Ireti Bakare-Yusuf on Borderlines on Nigeria Info 99.3, MACBAN President Baba Othman Ngelzarma said attacks on herders have reached a crisis level.
“Our people are being killed every day. Bandits take them from the bush before anyone even hears about the kidnappings in town,” he said.
According to him, about 4 million cows have been stolen in 10 years, and many pastoralists have been forced to flee their homes.
“Twenty percent of our people have left Nigeria because they no longer feel safe,” Ngelzarma added.
He also shared specific cases of violence against the association’s leaders. “Our chairman in Kwara was killed inside his own house. Another leader’s wife and daughter were kept for eight months. The family had to pay ten million naira and bring two motorcycles before they were freed,” he said.
In one Sokoto community, he said over 10,000 cows were taken during a single attack. Another MACBAN vice chairman was kidnapped after a 3 million naira ransom, but the family never recovered his body. The national vice president has also been missing for three years.
Ngelzarma described the situation as “sheer criminality,” calling on the government to improve security in grazing areas. “We need serious action. Our people are suffering. We just want protection and justice,” he said.
