MACBAN Writes U.S. Congress, Seeks Removal from Sanctions List

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has asked the U.S. Congress to drop its recommendation for targeted sanctions, arguing that claims linking the group to religious persecution in Nigeria are inaccurate.

The appeal follows a November 4 resolution in which U.S. lawmaker Smith Christopher called for visa bans and asset freezes on members of MACBAN and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, while also urging the designation of “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” in Benue and Plateau as entities of particular concern under the International Religious Freedom Act.

Addressing journalists on Sunday in Abuja, MACBAN president Baba Ngelzarma said the association had formally communicated its objections to Congress through the American embassy, insisting its name be removed from the recommendation.

Ngelzarma described the assertions in the resolution as misleading, maintaining that MACBAN is a lawful socio-cultural and economic body registered since 1986, not a militia or violent organisation. He said the resolution failed to distinguish between criminal groups acting on their own and pastoralist communities that have also suffered heavily from insecurity.

The association presented a decade of casualty data, reporting that between 2015 and 2025 at least 18,600 pastoralists were killed, 1.29 million displaced, 87,543 homes destroyed and more than one million cattle stolen or slaughtered. Several state-level MACBAN officials were also said to have been assassinated for cooperating with security agencies.

Ngelzarma argued that the figures reflect a community under siege rather than one driving violence. He highlighted MACBAN’s involvement in peacebuilding initiatives alongside the armed forces, police, civil defence corps, traditional rulers and international partners including USAID, Mercy Corps, Search for Common Ground and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

The U.S. Congress is expected to hold a hearing on President Donald Trump’s re-designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern on Thursday.