By Abu Adamu
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has denied allegations linking it to terrorism and violent crimes, urging the Federal Government to pursue diplomatic engagement with the United States over a proposed congressional bill it says unfairly associates the group with insecurity in Nigeria.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, MACBAN National President, Baba Ngelzarma, rejected claims that the association is connected to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping or cattle rustling. He described such assertions as false and potentially damaging to Nigeria’s economy and international standing.
His comments come against the backdrop of a proposed U.S. legislation titled H.R. 7457 – Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, currently before the United States Congress. Although details of the bill are still under legislative consideration, it reportedly seeks to address concerns over religious freedom and accountability in Nigeria, including issues tied to violent conflicts in parts of the country.
Ngelzarma maintained that neither any Nigerian court nor foreign jurisdiction has indicted or convicted MACBAN of criminal or terrorist activity since its establishment in 1986. He emphasized that the association is a legally registered body with democratically elected executives at the federal, state and local government levels.
Founded to promote the interests of cattle breeders and pastoralists, he said MACBAN has over the decades functioned as a pressure and advocacy group within Nigeria’s livestock sector. It has often been involved in dialogue with federal and state governments on pastoral welfare, grazing policies, livestock modernization and conflict mediation, particularly in regions affected by farmer-herder clashes.
Nigeria has in recent years grappled with complex security challenges, including banditry in the North-West, insurgency in the North-East, and recurring farmer-herder conflicts across the Middle Belt. While some violent actors have been described in public discourse as “herdsmen,” security agencies have repeatedly stated that criminal networks involved in kidnapping and banditry cut across ethnic and occupational lines.
Ngelzarma warned that broad associations of pastoralist groups with terrorism risk stigmatizing millions of law-abiding citizens whose livelihoods depend on livestock production. According to him, MACBAN members contribute significantly to Nigeria’s protein supply chain and rural economy.
He further argued that any international blacklisting of legitimate associations could disrupt trade flows, limit access to development partnerships, and exacerbate the marginalization of already vulnerable pastoral communities.
The MACBAN president also said pastoralists have themselves been victims of violence. He cited the killing of eight state-level leaders of the association in 2025 during attacks attributed to criminal elements, insisting that such incidents underscore that its members are not perpetrators but victims of insecurity.
Calling for measured diplomatic engagement, Ngelzarma appealed to the Senate Committees on Foreign Affairs and National Security to address what he termed mischaracterisations. He urged the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Adviser to open dialogue with U.S. lawmakers to ensure that counterterrorism cooperation and human rights advocacy are not built on what he described as “false equivalences.”
He also cautioned the media against sensational reporting and stereotyping, stressing that Nigeria’s security crisis is multi-layered and requires nuanced, evidence-based coverage rather than profiling entire communities.
“MACBAN remains committed to national unity, constitutional order, peaceful coexistence, livestock modernization, and cooperation with security agencies,” he said.
The press briefing marks the association’s latest attempt to defend its institutional reputation amid heightened international scrutiny of Nigeria’s internal security dynamics, as debates over religious freedom, accountability and rural violence continue both at home and abroad.