The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has vehemently denounced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proposed establishment of Fulani cattle ranches in Abuja, the ancestral land of the Gbagi people. In a press statement released on June 24, 2025, by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful, the group labeled the initiative as “RUGA repackaged” and a “sinister land-grabbing strategy” designed to reward killers and entrench Fulani expansionism.

IPOB drew parallels between the current proposal and historical events, asserting that the Fulani established dominance over the Hausa people through similar tactics of “conquest, deception, and the systematic relegation of indigenous populations.” The statement warned that Abuja is poised to suffer the same fate if the plan proceeds, turning the Gbagi people into “strangers in their ancestral homes.”

“Is it not a shame that in the 21st century, the federal government of a country is prioritizing cow colonies over education, security, and innovation?” queried Emma Powerful. IPOB challenged the notion of establishing cattle settlements near a nation’s capital, asking President Tinubu to cite any major global city where such a practice exists.

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The group further alleged that the ranching plan is a “green light for more bloodshed,” implying that it incentivizes ethnic cleansing by rewarding “mass murderers into landowners.” IPOB declared this to be “state-sanctioned terrorism” and an “unforgivable act of aggression and cultural genocide” against the Gbagi people, who they emphasized have no other homeland.

IPOB unequivocally stated its commitment to resisting any attempts to impose this “toxic Fulani expansionist agenda” in Biafraland. “No inch of our territory will be given for herder settlements, cattle corridors, or so-called ranching,” the statement affirmed, declaring forests, villages, and farmlands in Biafraland as sacred.

The press statement also proposed an alternative, suggesting that cattle be ranched far from human communities, such as in Sambisa Forest, and transported by rail, a method used in “civilised societies.” IPOB reiterated Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s long-held stance that “no modern society moves cattle on foot” or “erects ranches next to homes, schools, and marketplaces.”

Concluding the statement, IPOB declared its solidarity with the Gbagi people and all other indigenous nationalities facing “existential threats from Fulani neo-colonial conquest.” The group called for respect for diversity, preservation of cultures, and protection of ancestral lands, urging Nigeria to “choose reason over ruin.”