The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) is intensifying its diplomatic fight against a proposed resolution in the U.S. Congress that could classify the group as a terrorist entity and freeze its assets.
MACBAN national president Baba Othman Ngelzarma, on Tuesday, insisted in an interview with our correspondent that the organization is a legitimate trade union that has never funded or promoted criminality in Nigeria, arguing that violence in Nigeria is rooted in resource competition and banditry, not religious warfare.
Ngelzarma confirmed that MACBAN has formally reached out to the U.S. Congress, sending comprehensive defense documents via the U.S. Ambassador in Nigeria.
According to him, the association used this channel to ensure its counter-narrative reaches lawmakers considering sanctions and asset freezes against the group.
“We are also reaching out through our partners that we deal with in America," Ngelzarma told Nigeria Info.
"Let them advance our cause in Congress. Let Congress know who we are and how we operate.”
MACBAN's documents were written to prove MACBAN's status as a victim, not a perpetrator, of the violence.
It detailed the financial and human costs inflicted upon its members, including:
- A compiled list of MACBAN officials reportedly killed by bandits and cattle rustlers, including multiple chairmen in Kogi State, the chairman in Kwara State who was assassinated in his house, and the chairman in Katsina State whose wife and daughter were kidnapped.
- Records of ransom payments detailing the economic toll on herders, including a claim that members in a single local government area paid ransoms totaling over 300 million Naira to kidnappers.
- Documentation of major livestock losses, such as an incident where over 10,000 cows belonging to pastoralists were swept away by bandits in Sokoto State.
No Christian Genocide - MACBAN
Ngelzarma further directly challenged the framing used by some U.S. lawmakers that the violence is a "Christian genocide."
"If you will put the whole crisis as a genocide, then let it be genocide against humanity," Ngelzarma said, arguing that Muslims in the North-West and North-East are the primary victims of insurgency and killings.
The association has maintained that it is being misrepresented as an aggressor, stressing its long history of cooperation with both international and national agencies.
Ngelzarma disclosed that the organization is actively working to shift the narrative in Washington.
Though Ngelzarma stated they are yet to receive a formal response through the U.S. Ambassador, he confirmed that the association is trying to reach out to members of the U.S. Congress to understand and plead their cause as a peaceful association.
MACBAN maintains that its internal protocols are designed to weed out criminal elements.
"Our members are fully screened by security agencies before admission," Ngelzarma said.
He added that the association has previously engaged peacefully with numerous international organizations, including USAID, to prove its non-militant status.
