Chairman of the Plateau State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, MACBAN, Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo, has insisted that the Fulani people have never been involved in land grabbing in the state contrary to allegations that his people have been attacking rural communities and grabbing their lands.
Babayo, who made the assertion during an interactive session with select journalists in Jos on Saturday, said the Fulani people have been wrongly accused and blamed for every violence in the state, including taking over people’s lands.
He stated that the natives, especially the Beroms in the state have been in the habit of attacking herders, killing them, and rustling their cows, only to turn round and blame the Fulani people.
While responding to a question on whether the Fulani herders have been actively grabbing lands in several communities in the state, Babayo responded:
“It is totally not true. What they have been saying, that Fulani or Miyetti Allah have grabbed land, is false. There is no land grabbing.”
Babayo emphasized that if anyone claims that his land has been taken over by Fulani people in any part of the state, such a person should do the needful by reporting the matter to the security agencies instead of insinuating that they have been displaced.
“The security agencies are in the right position to investigate and verify if there has been any case of land grabbing. Let them investigate and identify the rightful owner. I insist that no Fulani person or group has ever grabbed lands in Plateau State. Since the time of our forefathers, the Fulani have not grabbed land from anybody.
“That claim is unacceptable and untrue. If someone has taken your land or property, there are legal procedures to reclaim it. No one is above the law. We have the police, the military, the DSS, and the courts.”
He added that the Fulanis living in the rural areas were born and brought up in the communities and did not suddenly come to take land.
“If anyone believes their land was taken, they should report it to the authorities. What the natives are saying is pure propaganda and does not promote peace. These utterances are fuelling the crisis in the state,” he stated.
Fulanis have never grabbed any land in Plateau – MACBAN