Middle Belt Forum Rejects FG’s Ranching Plan, Calls it “Forceful Land -Grabbing”
- Demands Immediate Suspension, Threatens Legal Action And 2027 Electoral Consequences
Our Reporter
The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has rejected the Federal Government’s renewed cattle ranching policy, describing it as a “forceful land-grabbing scheme” aimed at establishing Fulani settlements on ancestral Middle Belt lands.
In a press statement signed by its Spokesman, Luka Binniyat, and released recently, the MBF said the policy amounts to “expropriating the ancestral landscape of indigenous Middle Belt communities for the settlement and economic advancement of people who have, for years, been involved in genocidal violence against them.”
The Forum listed Adamawa, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory as states that “suffered the worst atrocities carried out by Fulani Militia” and where attacks are “still ongoing.”
The MBF singled out the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, a Fulani and cattle breeder, accusing him of driving “a Fulani expansionist agenda.”
It argued that the Minister should have considered “the vast unoccupied lands in the far north” such as Jigawa, Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Zamfara and Northern Kebbi, “rather than promoting the forceful acquisition and allocation of vast occupied Middle Belt lands for the exclusive use of pastoralists who are mainly Fulani.”
The Forum also questioned changes to the pilot locations, noting that when the initiative was announced in January 2026, Kano was among the six states. Still, it has now been replaced by Nasarawa.
“This change raises questions about the real objective of the policy and strengthens fears that the programme is becoming a vehicle for expanding permanent Fulani settlements into the Middle Belt,” the statement said.
The MBF said, “hundreds of thousands of hectares of Middle Belt land have already been forcefully abandoned or occupied following unrelenting attacks, killings and displacement attributed to Fulani ethnic militias.”
It criticized the government for “considering taking more land for cattle settlements” instead of restoring displaced persons and securing their communities.
The Forum also opposed the “Wase Model” in Plateau State, saying it is “opposed by average farmers and Plateau State indigenes” and only backed by “elites, politicians, some traditional rulers who stand to benefit.”
The MBF demanded the immediate suspension and cancellation of the ranching policy in the Middle Belt.
It urged legal practitioners to challenge any unlawful land acquisition in court, and asked National Assembly members from affected states to summon the Minister. The Forum also warned that governors who “surrender ancestral lands” risk electoral rejection in 2027, and it urged communities to use “every lawful and constitutional means” to resist implementation.
The Forum warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of “negative electoral consequences ahead of the 2027 Presidential election” if the policy continues.
“A policy imposed without the genuine consent of every stakeholder… can only breed conflict. It will deepen resentment and could trigger serious problems,” the statement said.
“The Middle Belt has been bled, displaced and dispossessed enough. The MBF will not stand by while our ancestral land is taken from its owners.”
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