The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB has kicked against plans by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria to deploy 5,000 vigilantes to the South-East region.
The Miyetti Allah group had recently announced it would deploy the vigilantes to protect herders and their cattle in the South East.
A statement released by its Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, said it was ready to resist the plan by Miyetti Allah, adding that the position of the cattle breeders association was an insult to Igbo land.
This is as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, said the threat by Miyetti Allah Koutal Hore to establish a 5,000-member vigilance group in the 36 states can lead the country towards anarchy.
IPOB said “The attention of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra has been drawn to the threat by Miyetti Allah to deploy 5,000 jihadists to Biafra land to protect their cows and herders following the floating of Ebube Agu security outfit by South-East governors.
”We consider this utterance an insult to the entire Biafra and won’t tolerate it despite our grievances against the treacherous South-East governors and the political elite.
”The Miyetti Allah and their terrorists group should know that they shouldn’t play God forever. They are trying to provoke ESN and IPOB to take a drastic action. IPOB and ESN are running out of patience with their insults.”
Meanwhile, Adams said the Federal government should quickly call the Fulani group to order to avoid anarchy in the country.
He spoke just as the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) alleged that the rumpus being created across Nigeria by Fulani herdsmen in the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore and other groups, is nothing but a plan to take over other people’s land by force.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday Sun, Adams said “Our people can’t go to their farms again. There is much security threat. It has caused famine in the land. Establishing a vigilante group by the Fulani in other people’s land is driving the country towards anarchy and nobody has a monopoly of violence.
“They are condemning Amotekun and Ebubeagu. But it is only criminals that will have the fear for any region to have their internal security outfits. Why is Miyethi Allah challenging anything that happens in other regions? I think the Federal Government should not take their statement likely. If they do, it can affect the government.
“If they want to organize a security outfit, it should be to help and support the government and not to work against the government. Have the Yoruba or the Igbo in Kano organised a parallel security outfit against Hisbah?
”No Yoruba community has said it wants to tackle Hisbah, because they know that Hisbah is serving the state government and the state government has the right to protect the interest of the people. Miyethi Allah is making a statement that can cause crisis in the country,” he stated.
Secretary-General of the YCE, also known as ‘Igbimo Agba Yoruba,’ Dr. Kunle Olajide, said the Yoruba in the South West of the country are aware of the grand plan and would not allow such invasion.
He described the proposed deployment of vigilante by the group across Nigeria, including the South West, as an absolutely bogus and a criminal trespass that Yorubaland would not take with levity.
Olajide stated that as law-abiding citizen, one could go to any part of the country because the freedom of movement is guaranteed under the constitution without fear of being molested. He added that the Yorubaland has not deviated from this, and that the claim that Yoruba have been killing Fulani is absolutely false.
On the proposed deployment of Miyetti Alla vigilantes across the country, he stated that the forest in the South West, comprising Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States, belong to the state governments in the South West and not the Federal Government.
The Chairman of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Gen Kunle Togun (retd), a former Director of Military Intelligence and Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service, simply said: “Let the Miyetti Allah leader come out and give names of the Fulani that he said Amotekun Corps has killed and where?’’
On the deployment of Miyetti Allah vigilante, Togun, responded: “It has been long that they have been talking about it. We know they have vigilantes, and we know who their vigilantes are. So, how can they come and have vigilantes across the country? Are they government? As far as I am concerned, I don’t think any governor in South West is going to allow any vigilantes from Miyetti Allah to operate in any state in Yorubaland.”
