Ethnic Youth Leaders’ Coalition
A group under the aegis of the Coalition of Indigenous Youth Presidents for Ethnic Nationalities based in Nasarawa State have questioned the motive behind the formation of the Nomadic Fulani Vigilante Group.
Describing the launch of the Fulani Vigilante as a “systematic move by Miyetti Allah to institutionalize and internalize Fulani militia groups in the state,” alleging that it was a plan by the founders to overrun the state with Fulani militia’s group disguising as nomadic vigilante.
The youth coalition in a statement issued and signed by the President, Forum of Indigenous Youth Presidents Ethnic Nationalities Nasarawa State, Comrade Silas Dauda Yileni, the group said that in one of its findings, it discovered that there were “plans by the Miyetti Allah to bring the likes of Turji and many other Fulani militia leaders to be de-radicalized to work in the vigilante group.
“How many nomads do we have in Nasarawa State that would warrant employing 4000 youths as nomad vigilante? What are the challenges facing Fulanis as an Ethnic group in the state that deserve only a nomad group (Vigilante) to mitigate them, they queried?
While calling on Gov. Abdullahi Sule to as a matter of urgency have a rethink or disband the said Vigilante group to avoid trading the peace in the State with “a group on mission,” they also call on the security agencies to see the danger in allowing this group exist.
They also called on the traditional rulers too to raise their voices on this new development and cautioned against allowing the group to exist.
“If the state wants to allow a vigilante for nomads why then should it be of only Fulani extraction? Thus, let it be a harmonized tribal group not just a tribe. Does it mean that only Fulanis that own cattle In the Nasarawa state? Even if the answer is yes, a harmonization is a necessity to this effect.
“We are also calling on every sons and daughters, major and critical stakeholders of the state to help us see this as a grand plan to flood our state with militia group as members of vigilante, which possesses great security threat to our people and our communities in the nearest future.”