The Nigerian government is prosecuting the leader of the country’s Muslim Fulani herdsmen group Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore (MAKH), Bello Bodejo, for forming an illicit 2,000-man ethnic militia.
Authorities say the creation of the nomadic vigilante defense group is a threat to “national security and public safety.”
He was arrested seven days after launching the group on Jan. 17 in Nasarawa State capital, Lafia, 70 miles southeast of Abuja.
Bodejo had said during the ceremony that the group would aid the police and the military in tackling the mass abduction of citizens for ransom and murderous invasions of communities in Nasarawa.
Representatives of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Army attended the event to show support. But Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule disowned the “illegal group.”
Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi says the unauthorized establishment of the militia group is “punishable under Section 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Meanwhile, the prolonged detention of their leader has provoked a protest by members of the cattle cartel for his unconditional release. Bodejo is in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
