Miyetti Allah says supporters of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue, not Fulani herdsmen, attempted to assassinate him.

On Saturday, Mr Ortom said herders attacked him on his farm near Tyo-mu, along Makurdi-Gboko Highway. The governor linked the attack to the state’s anti-open grazing policy, saying his government will not repeal a law adopted in 2018 against nomadic grazing because it has been popular amongst residents.

In a statement by the National Secretary of Miyetti Allah, Alhassan Saleh, Mr Ortom’s claim was dismissed. 

The group said, “Herdsmen cannot attack him. There are even no herdsmen in Benue state because he has driven them away. He’s just behaving like a tout, and it’s unfortunate that such a person could become a governor.

“He trivialises everything. The attack is political; they are killing themselves there. There are killers around him; everybody knows.” 

The statement added, “If nemesis would catch up with him for his atrocities against herders, it’s the killers that he is breeding, not herders that will finish him. We don’t have any hands in his matter.”

Miyetti Allah’s rebuttal statement came after the Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) claimed responsibility for the attack.

A statement titled, ‘Why we attacked Ortom,’ issued by Umar Amir Shehu, published by Ripples, confirmed that FUNAM attacked the governor on behalf of millions of Fulanis.

“Yes. Yes, we did. The Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM) carried out the attack. We have genuine reasons. We acted on behalf of millions of Fulani people in 15 countries,” FUNAM said in the statement.

In February, Mr Ortom had accused Bauchi’s Governor Bala Mohammed of plotting to kill him in cahoots with Fulani herders. Mr Ortom said Mr Mohammed should be held accountable if anything happened to him, alleging he is part of a “terrorist Fulani organisation, terrorising Nigerians.”

The Global Terrorism Index 2020 (published by the Institute for Economics & Peace) noted, “Of particular concern is the increasing terror threat from radicalised Fulani in Nigeria, where there is already an ongoing violent conflict between herders and farmers.