The Fulani Youth Association of Nigeria strongly condemns the prolonged detention of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore’s President, Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, by the Nigerian Army.
Bodejo’s arrest appears linked to his recent formation of a 1,144-member nomadic vigilante team aimed at combatting banditry, cattle rustling, and insecurity in Nasarawa State.
The group appeals to President Bola Tinubu to swiftly intervene in the interest of fairness and equity for all citizens. This plea is conveyed through a statement signed by Mohammed Suleiman, the Convener of the Fulani Youths Association of Nigeria, and released to journalists in Lafia on Saturday.
The statement read, “We are aware that Bodejo was picked in his office for some days now and he is being held at the facility of the Nigerian Army in Asokoro without charge.
“The Nigerian Army is not empowered by our laws to detain any citizen. The Police and the Department of State Services are the only ones with the power to detain a citizen. Keeping Alhaji Bodejo for this long period is illegal.
“By this illegal act, the Army is going outside its constitutional duty. They should hand over our leader to the Police or the DSS and grant them records of whatever they are investigating.
“We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to as a matter of urgency order the immediate release of the Lamido Fulbe, Bello Bodejo.”
The group also described Bodejo’s continuous detention without trial as “unconstitutional” and “smacks of impunity of the highest order.”
“If the Army has evidence against Bello Bodejo committing any offence known to the law, he should be arraigned before a competent court. Subjecting him to illegal detention is an infringement on his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution,” the statement added.