Leadership of Miyetti Allah during a meeting on Monday.
Cecilia Onah, Lafia
Worried by the continuous incarceration of Fulani herdsmen in correctional centres across the country, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-cultural Association, on Monday inaugurated a 55 member legal team to rescue herdsmen currently serving jail terms.
The National President of the association, Alhaji Abdullahi Bodejo, made the disclosure during the group’s 2023 Annual General Meeting held in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Bodejo explained that the narrative in the country that all Fulani herdsmen were criminally minded was not true, adding that the lawyers have been mandated by the association to provide legal assistance to all herdsmen who were unjustly sent into detention.
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He, however, urged his kinsmen to always live in peace and harmony among other Nigerians to avoid been arrested by the security agencies.
Bodejo added that anyone who willingly troubles other citizens of the country and get arrested by the security agencies, will not be rescued by the association.
He said, “Many of our kinsmen are in correctional facilities across the country for doing nothing wrong to anyone. They were caught and sent to jail simply because they were taking their cows around for grazing. Others were arrested just because they are Fulani people.
“The situation has been very worrisome, that is why we decided to constitute this legal team of 55 lawyers who will help the innocent ones to get the justice they deserve.
“This association does not encourage violence of any kind. We believe that Nigeria should remain peaceful and united, so anyone of our kinsmen who looks for trouble will not be assisted by our lawyers.”
On her part, the First Lady of Bauchi State and Matron of the Association, Hajiya Aisha Bala Muhammed, while narrating that people from all tribes in the country were involved in crime, encouraged members of the association to imbibe the culture of sending their children and wards to school so that crime would be drastically reduced in the society.
“In every tribe, there are always people who will give bad name to their kinsmen. All tribes have such people. So, that bad narrative on only the Fulani people is not good. We have to start sending our children to school and give them good upbringings so that they will be useful in our respective states and also contribute meaningfully to the growth of Nigeria,” she said.
Earlier in his welcome address, Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who was represented by the Chairman of Karu LGA, James Thomas, assured the association of the continuous support of the state government in issues affecting its members.
