A prominent Fulani socio-cultural organization, the Concerned Fulani People of Nigeria, has called on President Bola Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene and restrain Yoruba nation activist Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho, following what they describe as incendiary statements targeting Fulani communities in Oyo State.
In a statement released on Sunday, the group’s convener, Ibrahim Barkindo Chubado, expressed alarm over reports that Igboho issued a two-hour ultimatum to Fulani leaders in the state over the alleged kidnapping of a woman and her children. Igboho reportedly threatened to take matters into his own hands if the victims were not freed within the timeframe, vowing to raid a forest reserve suspected to be a hideout for the abductors.
Chubado warned that singling out the Fulani ethnic group for crimes committed by individuals could inflame ethnic tensions and sabotage ongoing peace and security initiatives. He emphasized that the Fulani people oppose terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and all forms of criminality, insisting that illegal acts should not be generalized to an entire community.
The group noted that Fulani communities across Nigeria consist of law-abiding citizens who should not be collectively blamed for the actions of a few criminals. They voiced concern over a recurring pattern of associating Fulani identity with criminality without concrete evidence, cautioning that such broad generalizations could incite hostility and violence.
“We acknowledge that there are bad elements among Fulani, Hausa, and other northern ethnic groups. However, offenders should be dealt with as individuals, not profiled by ethnicity or religion. We urge the authorities to call Igboho to order,” the statement read.