By Luka Binniyat
KADUNA—Alhaji Abdullahi Sule, Governor of Nasarawa State in Nigeria’s violence ridden Middle Belt, has disassociated himself from a controversial Nomadic Vigilante defense group, formed by Muslim Fulani cattle cartel serially accused of genocide against ethnic Christians of the area.
TruthNigeria had reported on the 20th January, 2023 that the National President of Mayetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Bello Bodejo launched a security group, Nomadic Vigilante, exclusively made up of 2,140 Fulani members in Nasarawa State capital, Lafiya, 70 miles south east of Abuja, with representatives of the Nigeria police and the Nigeria Army in attendance.
Bodejo had said during the ceremony that the group would aid the police and the military in tackling mass abduction of citizens for ransom and murderous invasions of communities in Christian populated areas of Northern Nigeria.
Ironically, the Fulani tribe, which has firm monopoly of transhumance cattle rearing in Nigeria has been constantly accused for the crimes.
Bodejo had gone further to revealed during the ceremony that the group would be armed “within the law” and that one of Nigeria’s most ruthless and most wanted bandits, Dogo Gide would be convinced to join the group.
The development was met with swift rejection by vast majority of Nigerians, especially from the Middle Belt, also known as “Nigeria’s Christian Belt” of the north which covers 237,540 square miles of arable land watered by perennial streams and rivers.
Truth Nigeria reported that the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) which is the major socio-cultural body of the hundreds of ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt had directed that each of its affiliates immediately form its own armed militia.
In Nigeria, citizens can only bear fireman of any type only with the written permission of Nigeria President or the Inspector General of police.
Four days after Truth Nigeria report was published, Bodejo was arrested at the Miyetti Allah’s Head Office, Tudun Layi, 10 miles east of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital state by a combined armed team of Nigeria’s secret police and Nigeria Army and taken to an unknown custody till date.
The emergence Nomadic Vigilante has created heat in Nasarawa State where the Muslim Fulani are a small percentage of the settler population among Christian and traditional religion worshipers who are the indigenous owner of the 10,137 square miles state with a population about 2.8 million.
It therefore looks expedient for Governor Bello to come up with his stand on the controversial group since it was launched under his nose and he never protested its formation.
Leadership newspaper Monday reported that, “Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule has denied involvement in the formation of Nomad Vigilante recently launched by the leadership of Fulani socio-cultural association in the state,” the paper wrote on its online edition.
“Governor Sule disowned the group during separate meetings with members of the State House of Assembly and representatives of the State Council of Chiefs yesterday in Lafia,” the report added.
“The state government has no prior knowledge of the formation of the outfit. This administration would not support any illegal group in the state,” Sule was quoted as saying.
‘If the state government is interested in the formation of such an outfit, it would have since initiated a legislation through the State House of Assembly to give it a legal backing,” the governor said as reported by Leadership.
With the position of Governor made known and with the arrest and detention of Bello Bodejo, founder of the Nomadic Vigilante, it would appear that the Fulani militia group has been proscribed, even though no official statement to that effect has been made by the government.
Luka Binniyat is an award-winning Journalist with 27 years of experience based in Kaduna and writes on crime, politics and social issues.
