A Yoruba advocacy group, the Yoruba Union (Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá), has commended the United States Congress for proposing legislation that seeks to ban Fulani herder groups, including the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria.
In a statement released on Thursday by its Home Director, Princess Balogun, the group described the proposed U.S. bill as a “historic step toward justice and accountability” for victims of violent attacks in South-West Nigeria and other regions.
The Union expressed deep frustration with what it called the Nigerian government’s failure to protect its citizens, alleging that federal authorities have been complicit in the violence by choosing to negotiate with perpetrators instead of confronting them.
“For too long, Yoruba communities have suffered untold hardship at the hands of marauding Fulani herdsmen who have killed hundreds of innocent people, kidnapped women and children, raped young girls, and destroyed thousands of farmlands,” the group stated. It claimed that entire villages have been wiped out, displacing people from their ancestral homes across several states.
The group called for further actions from the U.S., urging comprehensive sanctions against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, members of his administration, and the leadership of Nigeria’s security agencies. It also advocated for the suspension of all foreign aid to Nigeria, arguing that it has not improved the living conditions of ordinary citizens.
Additionally, the Yoruba Union demanded that the U.S. Congress compel the Nigerian government to compensate all victims of herders’ violence and immediately halt its program of rehabilitating and reintegrating “repentant terrorists,” which it described as a threat to national security.
The statement concludes a growing trend of Nigerian diaspora and advocacy groups seeking international intervention to address the persistent insecurity in the country. There has been no immediate response from the Nigerian government or the mentioned herder associations to these latest allegations.
