The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) in a report has documented a detailed report on what is happening in the North West Region of Cameroon between the Fulani and natives of Bum/Nwa. Read the full report as published by CHRDA below

GENESIS OF THE PROBLEM:  The Fulani, also known as the Mbororos are predominantly nomadic people located almost exclusively within the savannah zone of West and Central Africa, and whose original home is said to be the Senegambia region. From Senegal, the Mbororos continued their movement alongside their cattle and headed to Northern Nigeria. The 19^th-century Jihad movement and epidemic outbreaks forced them to move from Northern Nigeria to Northern Cameroon. From Northern Cameroon, they moved south and started penetrating the North West Region in the early 20^th century. The Mbororos were warmly welcomed by their hosts because of their economic input, reflected in the cattle they introduced in the region, and the heavy taxes they paid to the government. Mbororo settlements could be found in Grassfields areas, such as Sabga, Santa, Wum, Nkambe, Nso, Fundong, Ndop, Bafut, Bali, Belo, Bum, Ndawara, and Nwa, among others.

The quest for grazing land in an environment of an increasing population of farmers put the Mbororos in daily conflict with their neighbouring farmers, however. Henceforth, the Mbororos were regarded as “undesirable aliens” and the local farming population clamoured for their expulsion. Beginning from the 1970s, with President Ahidjo in power, the Mbororos were no longer perceived as “aliens”. Nonetheless, farmer-grazier conflicts have been a recurrent issue in the North West Region, which has sustained xenophobic feelings towards the Mbororos. Today, the Cameroonian government, together with some stakeholders, has recently been looking for lasting solutions to the perennial farmer-grazier problem. This is to enable both the Mbororos and the local population to live in peace and harmony.

By the “Mbororo problem” in Cameroon, we are referring to the problem of marginalization, the problem of underrepresentation or non-representation, the problem of becoming permanently settled, the problem of free movement and free interaction with the early settlers, and the problem of stigmatization by non-Mbororos. The Mbororos (because of their nomadic and pastoralist lifestyle) in the North West Region have been victims of exploitation, oppression, harassment and humiliation by their farming neighbours, the administration and some rich and power-hungry Mbororo elites. This problem is also due to Mbororos’ way of life, illiteracy, and perceived ignorance and lack of guidance and cooperation. However, we shall focus only on the farmer-grazier issue and the resulting consequences which have given rise to a conflict within a conflict in the restive Anglophone Regions, particularly the Fulani conflict in Nwa.

Over the years, there has always been discontent between the natives of the Grassfields and the Mbororos over the issue of land. This issue is well-documented in Cameroon’s history, known as the farmer-grazier conflict. Some of the local populations of the Grassfields have not been happy with their Fons for ceding their lands out to the Mbororos whom they called ‘strangers’ or ‘outsiders’. This is due to the fact that the Mbororos do not only occupy their land, they also let cattle into the farmlands, which destroys the natives’ crops. In most cases in which natives have reported to the police or judicial and administrative authorities, the Mbororos have bribed the authorities, and the matters have been thrown out, leaving farmers without compensation.

In Boyo Division, and many other Divisions, very wealthy Mbororos such as Alhadji Baba Dan Pullo, one of the richest billionaires in Cameroon, forcefully occupied native land for his tea plantations and grazing land, thereby chasing the natives out of their ancestral land. The Mbororos have also been committing other atrocities against the natives, such as murder, theft, torture, and rape of women, among others. (Well-known cases of such atrocities have been recorded in areas such as Mbingo in Boyo Division, Bum, Ndawara, Ndop, Jakiri, Kumbo and Babanki.) When the natives report such cases to the authorities, the Mbororos will either offer a cow to the authorities or bribe them off with money, and the case ends there.

Because of the farmer-grazier conflict, the natives have developed hatred for the Mbororos and they have always lived at loggerheads with one another in the farming settlements of the Grassfields communities. A turning point in the farmer-grazier conflict, that demonstrates how seriously local farmers were ready to evict the Mbororos from their communities, happened in 2004. The people of Babanki, also known as Kedjom Keku, dethroned their Fon and lynched him alive because he allegedly sold some fertile farmlands in 1991 to a certain Mbororo cow lord, Alhaji Yusufo Danpullo, against his late father Fon Vibangsi’s will. The dust raised by the Babanki-Mbororo grazier fiasco has not quite settled. Many will remember this episode not only for the overt disturbance it instilled in the North West Region, but also because it presents a rare showcase of a traditional conflict in which the Fon himself was a casualty of popular discontent. This runs contrary to popular opinion that North West Fons are so powerful and backed by enormous traditional aura that they are invulnerable to punitive sanctions. Babanki people, against all odds, dethroned their own Fon Simon Vugah.

Another specific case of the farmer-glazier conflict is the 2017 case between farmers in the village of Tugid in Mbengwi—led by a Belgian national, Jan Cappelle Joris, who created a local farming association known as the Community Organic Farming Group of Tugid—against the Fulani herdsmen in Tugid Village, led by the billionaire business mogul Alhadji Baba Amadou Danpullo. The involvement of Danpullo and his connections with government forces led to the unjust repatriation of Jan Cappelle from Cameroon and the seizure of the farm land from the native farmers and its subsequent destruction by cattle. The feeling held against the Mbororos in Babanki is the same feeling held generally by farmers in almost all farming communities where the Mbororos and their cattle are present and destroying crops and farmlands in the North West Region, including Nwa in Donga Mantung Division, Nyos and Wum in Menchum Division, Belo and Bum in Boyo Division, as well as Ndop and Babungo in Ngokentunjia Division. Farmers’ retaliatory reactions toward the Mbororos have most often been highly violent. The Mbororos in most of these villages are also noted for fighting with knives and daggers, and this scares the locals from engaging with them in any open confrontation. A native of Kimbi while talking to CHRDA stated that the Mbororo man always walks with a knife around his waist and they have been using it to attack local farmers and their mothers and children, even when there is no problem between them, just to intimidate and cause panic.

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THE OUTBREAK OF THE ANGLOPHONE CRISIS

Prior to the outbreak of the Anglophone Crisis in 2016, the farmers across the North West had already suffered enough tragedy from graziers’ cattle feeding on their farms and destroying their crops to force them to unsparingly attack the cattle. This provoked Mbororo retaliation, resulting in the burning of houses and barns of foodstuffs in many villages, as well as several arrests, detainments and torture of farmers. When violence erupted in 2018 with the militarization of towns and villages by the Cameroonian defense and security forces, local communities in the North West and South West Regions created self-defense groups, to fight against the military. These groups, which were later transformed into what became known as “Ambazonia Restoration Forces,” with leadership coordinated from the diaspora, did not receive any support from the Fulani herdsmen. At first, the Mbororos tried to distance themselves from the struggle, but intermittent hostilities on the ground affecting not only the natives but the Mbororos alike made them start collaborating with the defense and security forces against the natives and “restoration forces”.

SEPARATIST ATTACKS ON MINORITY MBOROROS

As of September 2019, data collected and analysed by CHRDA shows that at least 2575 Mbororos have been displaced from their homes in Belo, Fundong, Njikwa, Andek, Mbengwi, Batibo, Esu and Widikum, among others, to places like Bamenda, Babungo, Elba Ranch, Sabga, and Bangante. Among the 2575 Mbororos displaced are 1791 children, 373 women, 8 widows, 330 men, and 81 other dependent persons. Among these, 11 are female-headed households.

Most of the displaced Mbororos were both threatened, and had their cattle taken away, houses burnt and destroyed, and the occupants evicted. They suffered a series of savage attacks from gunmen which led to the killing of at least 50 Fulani men across the North West Region, 20 kidnappings and at least 10.000.000 FCFA cash extorted in ransom, 1500 cows seized, 16 homes burnt down, 200 sheep seized and several horses shot to death.

CHRDA equally spoke to witnesses and they gave testimony as follows:

Mrs. Adamu reports that she lost a three-month, two-week-old pregnancy while trying to flee from Weh, where she lived with her husband and two kids. She says she lost the baby in the three days she spent in the bush during the period while the Mbororos were being chased by the separatists. She succeeded in leaving, howevr, and now resides in Bamenda with her husband and kids.

Aishatu recounts that in November 2018, upon the release of the presidential election results, her husband Mr. Usmananu screamed with joy and excitement, and because the separatist fighters were around her neighbourhood, they shot and killed him around 7pm.

On November 12, 2019, 39-year-old Maimuna, married to the late Saidu and with two kids, averred that her husband was shot to death on September 26, 2019, by separatists at Bamungo Market. She asserted that her husband was a commercial motorbike rider (okada-man) but was taken by ‘Amba Boys,’ and then beaten and shot to death. She states that after his death, they took his bike and were using it, and then later on brought the bike to their house and burnt it.

Figure 1: Mbororo IDPs recieved at CHRDA office in Bamenda.

Amina, a widow of over 50 years with seven children, said she was driven from her home in Bamessing where she was resident by the separatists in October 2018. They also took her son (Usefu Ibrahim) to Ndop Market and tortured him to death. She said after the separatists took her son away, they only saw the body the next day with his head burst and with wounds on his body.

Gagari, a 69-year-old man from Lassin-Bui Division, reported that he was abducted in October 2018 by armed separatist fighters, due to an allegation against him that he was working as an informant to the military. His bike was seized by separatists from his kid brother and taken to Misage. While in Misaje, the military attacked the separatist fighters with the bike. Those who succeeded to escape returned days back and claimed he was the one who informed the military to attack them. They then abducted him to their camp where he spent several weeks before being set free. He also stated that he was well tortured.

Hawa Isa, a widow from Bafut, reported that her house got burnt by separatist fighters in Bafut in September 2019. She also claimed that in the same month, her husband was kidnapped and murdered by the same separatists while he was herding their animals as he always did. She lost everything, and had to escape with her five children to Bamenda.

Ali, a 20-year-old Mbororo boy from Bamali-Ndop, reported that his motorbike was seized in Ndop while he was riding it for commercial purposes in January 2019. He escaped to Bamenda that same day with his grandmother and three junior brothers.

Oumaru, a farther of nine children from Menka, a locality under Widikum Subdivision, said that about 50 cows were taken from him in Ajing Hill, Menka area, where his cattle ranch was invaded in December 2018.

In June 2019, 37-year-old Fadimatu from Fundong, precisely in Konene, reported the killing of her father (Abdu Momini). According to her testimony, her father was killed by armed separatists after they seized his cattle in June 2019. They took 40 cows from his herd and when he went to their camp to inquire why his 40 cows were taken away, they tortured and killed him. After killing him, they went to his house and burnt it while two children were inside. The children of 12 and 7 years were rescued by the intervention of neighbours. That same day, they escaped to Bamenda where they now live.

On Novermber 9, 2019, 62-year-old Musah, displaced with four wives and thirteen children, reported to CHRDA to have lost over 575 cows to separatist fighters—precisely, 150 cows in Widikum, 200 cows in Akuaya, and about 225 cows in Njikwa in Momo. Finally, the son who accompanied him also testified that about two apartments of four and six rooms of the family resident in Njikwa were burnt.

The property and medicine for the cattle and all was burnt using kerosene from their generator. The house was burnt in October 2018 and after that cows were stolen. The complainant equally said that their Hilux pickup was also taken away the same day after burning the house. The houses in their cattle ranches were equally set on fire. The son also stated that one of his brothers was shot in the right leg by armed separatist fighters, and that his brother-in-law Yaya (25 years old) had been kidnapped and released the day before, after a ransom of 1.600,000 FCFA was paid. He also mentioned that this was his second time being kidnapped and in the first incident, they had paid a sum of 300,000 FCFA to secure his release.

THE FULANI RAIDS AGAINST THE NATIVES IN NWA SUB DIVISION

The human rights situation in some subdivisions, such as Bum in Boyo Division and Nwa in Donga-Mantung Division, all in the North West Region, in recent weeks has been very volatile. The Fulani herdsmen in the subdivisions, and mercenaries from Adamawa and Nigeria, continue to carry out punitive raids on the natives, killing and stealing, as well as burning houses and destroying their property.

The Fulani herdsmen (Mbororos) constitute some of the vigilante groups created by the government of Cameroon, and are sometimes accompanied in their activities by the military. Such activities have resulted in horrific massacres and wanton destruction of property, such as the 2020 Valentine’s Day Massacre in Ngarbuh where over 21 persons were killed, including pregnant women and children. In Esu in Menchum Division, a video emerged online in 2019 showing soldiers filming Fulanis who were embarking on a mission to attack the natives with Dane guns, machetes and sticks. The government’s alleged use of the Fulani, who are fighting for their own rights such as identity and land rights against the natives, represents a dangerous new phase of the conflict in the Anglophone Regions.

During the escalation phase of the crisis in 2018, the government—being aware of the local conflicts between Fulani herdsmen and native communities (people whom the government views as pro-separatists)—exploited the loyalty and allegiance of the Mbororos by recruiting them into local vigilante groups, promising them some favourable solutions to their long-standing conflict with the natives. Some of such promises include land rights. These promises motivated the Mbororos not to join the struggle on the side of the separatists. In 2019, they were recruited in some communities in the North West Region and armed with megaphones, machetes, and other mundane weapons by the Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, to act as watchdogs and vigilantes against armed separatist fighters, otherwise known to the government as ‘terrorists’. The successes Fulani have recorded in some communities while acting as a vigilante against the separatists have given the Fulani people of Nwa Subdivision the hope and courage to fight against the natives.

In the recent weeks, there has been growing tension in Nwa Subdivision between the Fulani herdsmen and the natives. In less than a month, the herders have carried out over a dozen raids against the natives in the villages of Nwa. While the raids in Nwa are still ongoing, similar raids are have been perpetrated in Bum in Boyo Division by the Fulanis against the natives. In response to the Fulani activities in Bum, separatist fighters attacked the herders and butchered their cattle. It is also alleged that the Fulani raids on the natives in Nwa are responses to persistent attacks by separatist fighters on the Fulani and their cattle, and they have decided to take revenge on the natives. Farmer-grazier conflicts which existed even before the outbreak of the Anglophone Crisis have also resurfaced and are playing a contributory role to the growing tensions between herders and local farmers. In the raids, only the Fulani are attacking and killing the natives, as they are well-armed, while the natives are fleeing into the bushes. The Fulanis perpetrating the raids are attacking from three fronts. Some are coming from Nigeria, others from the Adamawa in the North, and others from Nwa central town. It is alleged that during the raids on the Mbroros by the separatist fighters, the Mbororos escaped to Nigeria and the Adamawa region where they mobilized support from their brothers in these regions and have now returned to take revenge on the natives. They are also motivated by similar raids carried on in Nigeria by Fulani herdsmen against natives of Southern Nigeria, and their interaction with the Fulanis of Nigeria has allegedly given them the courage to conduct such punitive raids in Nwa.

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To document these cases, CHRDA has spoken to witnesses on the ground including a local council administrator in Nwa. Witnesses recounted that they have complained to government authorities through the Divisional Officer, Awarum Joseph, about the Fulani attacks against the population, and that the response he gave them was: “Where were they when the armed separatist fighters were attacking the Fulanis? Now is their turn to take revenge.” Since then, the government has not responded again while people are being killed, houses burnt and other valuable property destroyed.

THE ATTACKS IN FIGURES

On January 31, 2021, Fulani herders raided Ngung village, situated in Nwa Subdivision, and murdered an old man, known as Pa Frederick. Another man was shot in the leg and his wife was raped. They also chased out Christians from a local Baptist Church and set the building on fire. Other churches were burnt in Rom, Ngang and Mbak Mfe.

On Friday, February 18, 2020, Fulani herders raided the village of Mfe (Mbak-Mfe) and stabbed an 88-year-old woman to death. CHRDA has received and analyzed images of the raid, and identified the deceased as Rebecca Wanjah. Her daughter, who tried to retaliate, was stabbed in the chest and severely wounded with a knife.

Equally, on February 22, 2021, at about 5am, Fulani herders raided the villages of Nyang and Ntong and burnt down houses, killing two old men identified as Pa Nwengong and Pa Yenjoh. They were attacked and killed at home before the Fulani set the buildings on fire, since both men were sick and could not escape into the bushes.

These persistent raids on the natives are resulting in a new wave of displacements as civilians flee their homes. Between February 22 and 27, 2021, an estimated 4200 individuals were displaced from Tong, Sih, Bom, Nyack, Nfeh, Kwack and Yang villages (Nwa Subdivision) to Ntim, Lus, Nwa, Lih, Sabongari and the bush area (Nwa Subdivision) and Ntim Village in Nkambe Subdivision, all in Donga Mantung Division. Among the displaced population, some persons moved across the borders into Nigeria; however, the estimated number of individuals displaced to Nigeria (independent of the 4200 IDPs) is not yet known. Reports received as of March 31 show that majority of the displaced persons have not yet returned as the Fulani militia returned and caused more havoc on the 25 February 2021 by razing entire villages to the ground, killing a former government agent, A retired Divisional Officer known as Febnchak Manasis.

Figure 4: Women and children of Nwa fleeing from their homes to the bushes after Fulani raids.

It is not clear how many civilians have been killed in these attacks; however, witnesses from the ground recount that over 16 persons have been killed, mostly older persons and three women. CHRDA has also obtained a list of the deceased and they include, among others:

Bembi David, Kadiri Vincent, Ngunkie Samson, Ngunkie Obendia (13-year-old daughter of Ngunkie Samson), Kajere Kingsley, Dango Eric, Dango Micheal, Wanjah Rebecca (88-year-old woman), Nji Nwengong Samuel, Febnchak Manasis (retired D.O.), Yenjoh Jessy, Bapmuh Ezekiel, Yukbuin John Dickmu, Mami Ministina, Pa Frederick and one other yet to be identified.

Three churches and about 100 houses have also been burnt and looted as of February 27, 2021; however, the total number of houses burnt and looted is yet to be ascertained as villages are still deserted. Equally, the number of persons who sustained injury during the course of displacement has not yet been ascertained.

On March 29, 2021, Fulani headers attacked and killed another civilian in the village of Mbaw, who was captured while working in his farm. This brings the reported number of persons killed to 17.  In total, Fulani have raided 18 villages in Nwa Subdivision, namely: Ntong, Faam, Sih, Nyang, Ntim, Ngung, Kwark, Gom, Nkurt, Tong, Bom, Nyack, Nfeh, Yang, Rom, Ngang, Mbaw and Mbak Mfe.

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FULANI ATTACKS IN BUM

On January 20, 2021, armed Fulani herders erected road barricades on the road linking the villages of Subum and Buabua in Kimbi, Bum Subdivision in Boyo Division of the North West Region. They attacked villagers coming from the weekly market in Subum and collected their belongings. They also shot three persons, and two died instantly. Before this attack, the Fulani herders raided the business premises of the late Mr. Mbangchong Joseph Chia and looted his property. The sales boy in the store, known as Chia Primus, was also kidnapped and later found at an advanced state of decomposition while being killed and dumped in River Kimbi. In the operation, they also shot two young men identified as Kaka David and Ngong Genesis.

Before the recent attacks of January 2021 in the villages of Bum, these same villages and some localities of Menchum Division were equally razed, with over a dozen homes and lives lost in 2020. The incidents took place on January 12 and 13, 2020, conducted by the Mbororos led by an individual called Musa Balla. With support from mercenaries from Nigeria, they burnt down six villages in Bum. The villages burnt include among others Buabua, Subum, Mulung, Ngunakimbi and Kichowi. In one house, an old blind woman was burnt alive, and in Subum precisely, about nine men were killed in the raids. Those killed include, among others: Fang Philip, Wandia Gaston, Ngong Lawrence, Ngong Bonaventure, Nkang, Sang Stephen Ngong, A sambo, Ne Linus, Chia Gabriel (quarter head of Subum), who was taken and executed in Kimbi, and Fosi, who was also taken and killed in Kimbi.

In an interview with CHRDA, a witness to the happenings in Bum recounted: “These atrocities in Bum started on Wednesday the 11 December 2019, when the Amba Boys left our village (Buabua) and went to another Village called Kimbi and kill one Fulani man who has a gang that has been harassing people on their way from the market or farms and collecting their goods and every valuable item. When they killed him, the rest of the Fulani men in Kimbi rose against the villagers there in Kimbi, attacking people and burning down their houses.”

“Following the attacks, on the 13 December 2019, the defence and security forces, accompanied by the Fulanis, came to my village and burned down three houses but no life was lost on this day. When they left, another group of Fulanis raided the village on the 12 and 13 of January, 2020, while accompanied by Fulani mercenaries from Nigeria and let by Musa Balla. They burnt down houses including my father’s house. They also chased every person away, and those who ran into the bush, the fire was equally set in the bush so that they may have no hiding place. The people then left the bush and ran to other villages; some went to Konene, some to Ise, some to Ngwah and others to Bafmeng. As I’m talking now, they are still there. No one can enter the village as the Fulanis are still there chasing anyone they see. They equally looted property and are still there doing the same thing. Just three days ago they burned some houses again in Buabua which is one of the resettlement camps of the Lake Nyos disaster.” This is the testimony of a witness of January 2020.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

This report has analysed the Fulani problem in Cameroon prior to the outbreak of the Anglophone Crisis. It looked at the problem’s causes and how they have contributed to the recent violence in Nwa and other communities in Cameroon’s North West Region.

The report establishes that the Fulani problem in the North West dates back to a history of a long-standing conflict between the Fulani and native settlers over land rights (farmer-grazier conflict).

The Fulani problem in the North West has no links with religion, although some stakeholders have tried to classify it as a religious conflict pitting the Muslims against Christians in the region.

The conflict between Fulani and the natives is independent of the Anglophone Crisis; however, the government of Cameroon and armed separatist fighters are responsible for its immediate course in Nwa and other communities. The persistent attacks on the Fulani community and their cattle, perpetrated by armed separatist fighters, instilled a spirit of retaliation in the minds of the Mbororos, and they have been looking for the slightest opportunity to fight back. On the other hand, the government of Cameroon exploited the long-standing conflict between the Fulanis and native farmers to win Mbororos over, and are using them to fight against the natives, whom the government accuses of hiding their children who are separatists or support separatist ideology.

The situation in Nwa and Bum is very volatile and can get even worse if not handled in time by the administration. There are serious human rights violations going on, such as murder, arson, theft and destruction of property. There is also a serious humanitarian crisis being developed as civilians are being displaced within and across the border into Nigeria.

In conclusion, the violence in Nwa against the native settlers can be understood as an outburst of a long-standing conflict between the native communities and the Fulani communities revolving around farmland and grazing land. The Anglophone Crisis has contributed to precipitate its immediate course, due to both the government’s negligence and the separatists’ hostilities against the Fulanis. In less than two months of the ongoing raids, about 18 villages in Nwa have been raided and 17 unarmed civilians killed. Houses have been burnt, property looted and civilians displaced.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Cameroon has over the years been seen as the most peaceful country within the Central African sub-region, and this perception held until the Boko Haram insurgency emerged in Nigeria and arrived in Cameroon in 2009. While Cameroon was still struggling with Boko Haram, the Anglophone Crisis broke out in 2016 and plunged the country into a very serious security challenge and humanitarian crisis. It would be a turn for the worst if the Fulani crisis is not resolved in time by the government of Cameroon. It may appear simple, but it has presented some intriguing elements which, if not well-handled, may cause a spillover into a serious armed conflict. Some of these elements include:

• The use of mercenaries: There are credible reports that some of the fighters assisting the Mbororos in Nwa to fight against the natives are coming from the Adamawa Region and others from Nigeria. If the Fulani conflict in Nwa and other parts of the North West Region is not resolved in time, it may spill over to Adamawa and other regions and threaten the peace of an already fragile country embroiled in wars with Boko Haram and armed separatist fighters that is also facing trans-border security challenges in the East and sea pirates in the Gulf of Guinea in the South.
• Proximity to Nigeria: Cameroon shares a long border with Nigeria, from the North to the South, and there have been credible reports that Fulanis have been crossing from Nigeria into Nwa in Donga Mantung to assist their brothers in the raids, and likewise in Bum, where they enter through Menchum in Wum to attack the natives. Currently, there is an unfolding Fulani conflict in Nigeria where the herdsmen are attacking and killing the non-Fulanis from the southern parts of Nigeria. If the Fulani problem in Cameroon is not well-handled, their brothers in Nigeria may exploit the opportunity to transfer the hostilities to Cameroon and the whole region would be plunged into a warzone.

Cameroon owes a duty under international law and as enshrined in its constitution to protect, promote and fulfil human rights. This, therefore, imposes an obligation on the government to stop the attacks perpetrated against the natives by the Fulanis and to uphold the rule of law by arresting and bringing to justice those perpetrating violence in Nwa and Bum.

The Fulani herdsmen should stop the violence against the natives immediately and give peace a chance to reign. They should learn to co-exist with their farming neighbours peacefully, and this can be achieved by constructing ranches or fences where their cattle can be grazed without causing destruction to farmlands and planted crops. They should also stop the burning of bushfires as a means to produce fresh pasture for their cattle, which most often spreads far and destroys people’s homes and farmlands.

The separatist fighters should stop all forms of attacks against the Fulanis and allow them to exercise their rights and freedoms. In fighting against government forces in the Anglophone Crisis, no civilian, whether Mbororo or not, is a legitimate target for attack. Any attack against unarmed civilians constitutes a war crime, and perpetrators must be sanctioned.

Berinyuy Cajetan, Publisher

Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.