Miyetti Allah spokesman stated that Ortom’s hatred for the Fulani is the reason he wants the group proscribed.
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has begged not to be proscribed.
The group urged the federal government to ignore the calls made by Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, to declare the association as a terrorist organization.
Recall we had reported earlier that hours after the federal government gazetted an order designating bandits as terrorists, the Benue state governor asked the Federal government to also declare MACBAN a terrorist group.
Reacting to Governor Ortom's call, Baba Ngelzarma, national secretary of MACBAN, described Ortom’s request as “unpatriotic”. He stated that Ortom’s hatred for the Fulani “was not in doubt”, adding that “he has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is an unreliable leader”.
“We are not at all surprised at the recent call by Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State for the proscription of our association (MACBAN) going by his antecedents, whose stock in trade is fanning the embers of hatred between peaceful Nigerians that have been living in peace for many centuries,” he said in a statement.
We, therefore, call on the federal government to ignore this unpatriotic call by a wayward governor who is hell-bent on putting this country into unnecessary crisis.
MACBAN is not and will never be a terrorist organisation.
We are fully registered with the regulatory agencies with clear vision and mission to foster peaceful coexistence to our teeming members as well as serving humanity positively.”he said