Pastoralist groups in Nigeria have asked President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to allocate at least 30 per cent of the agricultural budget to the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and protect 417 grazing reserves across the country.
The groups also called for a national dialogue on farmer-herder conflicts, alleging that hundreds of pastoralists, including women, children and elderly people, had been killed in attacks in recent months.
At a news conference in Abuja on Sunday, the President of the Kautal Pulaaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria, Dr Huseini Buzaye, who signed an address on behalf of the Confederation of Pastoralist Non-Governmental Organisations (CONPA), said the demands were necessary to address insecurity and the marginalisation of pastoralist communities.
The association’s General Secretary, Abdullahi Ardo, who read the statement, rejected the profiling of Fulani pastoralists as criminals, saying the practice had fuelled violence and discrimination against innocent members of the community.
“For too long, the word ‘Fulani Pastoralist’ has been profiled and criminalized as synonymous with banditry, kidnapping and terrorism,” the statement said.
Police deploy officers to Ogun community over planned herdsmen attack
The coalition, which said it represents millions of pastoralists across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory through more than 30 associations, urged security agencies and the media to distinguish between criminal suspects and the wider Fulani community.
“Criminals are criminals and have no tribe,” it said, calling for the arrest and prosecution of individuals based on evidence rather than ethnicity.
The groups alleged that hundreds of pastoralists had been killed in coordinated attacks in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and other parts of the country in recent months.
They also claimed that thousands of cattle had been rustled or killed and entire settlements, known as Rugas, destroyed, leaving families displaced without adequate relief or compensation.
The coalition demanded an independent investigation into the alleged killings and urged the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons to provide relief to displaced pastoralists.
It also called on security agencies to protect pastoralists as Nigerian citizens, citing Sections 14 and 33 of the 1999 Constitution.
On livestock development, the groups commended Tinubu for establishing the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development but expressed concern over what they described as inadequate funding and the absence of a clear operational framework.
They urged the Federal Government to establish pilot ranches and fodder production facilities across the six geopolitical zones and ensure the immediate gazetting and protection of the 417 grazing reserves.
“Livestock is a 30 trillion economy. It cannot be treated with levity,” the statement said.
The coalition further cited what it described as more than 20,000 deaths linked to farmer-herder conflicts over the past decade, arguing that military operations alone could not deliver lasting peace.
It therefore urged Tinubu to declare a national dialogue and reconciliation process involving pastoralist associations, farmers, traditional rulers, the Christian Association of Nigeria, Jama’atu Nasril Islam, security agencies and state governments.
The proposed dialogue, it said, should address truth, justice, forgiveness, compensation and a roadmap for peaceful coexistence.
The groups also acknowledged the responsibilities of pastoralist communities in resolving the conflict, urging their members to respect farmers’ rights and property, prevent cattle from entering cultivated farmland, cooperate with lawful security investigations and report cattle rustling and kidnapping.
They warned against banditry, violence and reprisals, while announcing plans to conduct awareness and sensitisation campaigns across the six geopolitical zones.
“We are Nigerians. We are pastoralists. We are not bandits. We love this country. Our cattle feed this nation,” the statement said.
The coalition called on federal and state governments, traditional institutions, farmers’ associations, security agencies and development partners to pursue a coordinated approach to security, livestock development and peaceful coexistence.
- Herdsmen demand 30% of agric budget, protection for 417 grazing reserves - October 26, 2026
- Kogi: Police probe corporal over killing of female colleague, suicide - October 26, 2026
- Police arrest school driver over kidnapping, rape of student - October 26, 2026
