The Cross River State Government has withdrawn the earlier-granted cattle movement permit for the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association to pass their livestock from Ebonyi State through Cross River to Cameroon.
Sources reports that the cancellation was announced in a statement on Sunday, signed by the Commissioner for Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries Development, Emmanuel Anom.
Anom said the state government had overruled the earlier approval, directing security agencies to ensure that no such movement takes place across the state.
The statement read, “The Commissioner, on behalf of the Cross River State Government, hereby announces the cancellation of the movement permit earlier issued to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders for the movement of their cattle from Ebonyi State, across Cross River State, to Cameroon.
“This cancellation supersedes the previously issued permit. All security agencies are hereby directed to be vigilant and prevent any such movement through Cross River State.”
Although the state did not provide further details on the reason for the abrupt reversal, the directive comes amid heightened security tensions across the country, especially in northern and north-central states grappling with attacks linked to banditry and cattle-ransoming networks.
Recently, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) called on the United States Congress to remove its name from a proposed sanctions list, insisting it is a lawful, non-violent organisation unfairly linked to religious persecution and insecurity in Nigeria.
In a resolution introduced on November 4, US lawmaker Smith Christopher recommended visa bans and asset freezes against members of MACBAN and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
Ashenews also reports that the resolution further urged Washington to designate “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in Benue and Plateau states as entities of particular concern under the International Religious Freedom Act.
But speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, MACBAN President, Baba Ngelzarma, dismissed the allegations as “misleading and incomplete,” warning that the resolution mischaracterised the association and blurred critical distinctions between criminal gangs and legitimate pastoralists.
Ngelzarma said, “We reject the misleading and incomplete assertions contained in the resolution.
“MACBAN is a lawful socio-cultural and economic association registered by the Federal Government since 1986. We are not a militia, we are not a violent organisation.”
Ngelzarma argued that the US Congress failed to acknowledge the scale of violence suffered by pastoralist communities over the past decade.
According to data presented at the briefing, MACBAN said that between 2015 and 2025, 18,600 pastoralists were killed, 1.29 million displaced, 87,543 houses destroyed, and over one million cattle rustled or slaughtered.
