MYM Denies Attack on MACBAN Chairman, Alleges Fulani Intra-Group Feud
Our Reporter
The Mwaghavul Youth Movement has denied responsibility for the shooting of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) chairman in Mangu Local Government Area.
Alhaji Yakubu, MACBAN Chairman in Langai Ward, was reportedly shot in an attack that some reports linked to “Mwaghavul militiamen.”
In a statement issued on Saturday, October 18, 2026, the Mwaghavul Youth Movement described the allegation as “spurious” and “mischievous.”
“There is no Mwaghavul militia. Our youths are law-abiding farmers and vigilantes who only defend their ancestral homes against unprovoked attacks,” said Tubwot Joël Sunday, Director of Public Affairs of the group.
The MYM said no independent investigation had established the identities of the attackers, and accused the reports of attempting to “criminalize victims and cause ethnic tension.”
Instead, the movement described the incident as an intra-group feud among Fulani armed factions, alleging that moderate Fulani leaders who preach peaceful coexistence and refuse to cooperate with banditry, cattle rustling and attacks on farming communities often become targets.
“We have observed that Fulani leaders who preach peaceful coexistence, who resist being recruited into banditry, cattle rustling and attacks on farming communities, become targets of their own extremist factions,” the statement said.
“We know, and we affirm that there are very few peace-loving Fulani herders who want to coexist peacefully, who condemn the killing of farmers and the destruction of crops. The extremist armed groups see these moderates as betrayers.”
The MYM called on security agencies to investigate the shooting thoroughly and look inward at “rival factions competing for control of rustled cattle and territorial dominance.”
Mangu LGA has been an epicentre of recurring violence between farming and herding communities in Plateau State, with hundreds killed and displaced since 2023.
20
Post Comment