The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s government over a proposal to establish cattle ranches in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The secessionist group labelled the proposal as a “dangerous replay of history” and a covert attempt to revive the controversial RUGA settlement scheme under a new name.
The RUGA settlement initiative—short for Rural Grazing Area—was a controversial policy introduced by the Nigerian government under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The government said its primary aim was to address the long-standing and often violent conflict between nomadic Fulani herders and sedentary farmers, particularly in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and southern regions.
The idea was to establish designated settlements where herders could live and rear their livestock in a more structured, sedentary environment.
These settlements were to be equipped with amenities such as schools, veterinary clinics, water supply, markets, and abattoirs. According to the government, the goal was to reduce open grazing, which had led to frequent clashes over land and resources.
While the government framed RUGA as a peace-building and economic development strategy, many Nigerians—especially in the South and Middle Belt—saw it as an attempt to favour one ethnic group, the Fulani, and potentially seize land under federal authority.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB warned that the planned cattle ranches around Abuja, ancestral homeland of the Gbagi people, constitute an “assault on indigenous land rights” and represent a broader agenda of “Fulani expansionism.”
“This latest ploy is nothing but RUGA repackaged, a sinister land-grabbing strategy cloaked in government policy, designed to reward killers and entrench Fulani imperial expansionism in the heart of Nigeria,” IPOB said in the statement.
The group drew a historical parallel with the 19th-century Fulani jihad, which resulted in the subjugation of Hausa kingdoms and the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate.
IPOB expressed concern that similar dynamics could unfold in Abuja if indigenous land rights are not protected.
“What began as the ‘need for grazing’ centuries ago led to the total subjugation of proud Hausa kingdoms,” the statement read.
“Abuja is about to witness the same fate if this madness is not stopped.”
The Gbagi (also Gbagyi) people are recognised as the original inhabitants of the area now known as Abuja.
Since the relocation of Nigeria’s capital from Lagos in 1991, their land rights and cultural identity have been under growing pressure due to rapid urbanisation and government infrastructure projects.
IPOB expressed fear that the proposed ranches may further marginalise the indigenous population.
Though the Nigerian government has not officially labelled the project “RUGA,” the proposal has reignited controversy reminiscent of the 2019 failed RUGA initiative under Buhari.
The scheme aimed to establish Fulani settlements across several states to resolve herder-farmer conflicts but was widely opposed and ultimately suspended due to fears of land dispossession and ethnic domination.
President Tinubu’s administration maintains that the ranching project is intended to modernise livestock production, reduce clashes between farmers and herders, and enhance food security.
However, critics argue that placing such ranches near the nation’s capital is politically and socially inflammatory.
IPOB said it would resist any attempt to establish similar cattle settlements in the South-East.
“Our forests, our villages, our farmlands are sacred to us—not bargaining chips in a federal contract of death,” IPOB stated.
It also suggested that ranches should be located far from human settlements, proposing Sambisa Forest as a possible alternative and calling on the government to utilise rail infrastructure to transport cattle, mirroring practices in other countries.
IPOB warned against what it described as “state-sanctioned terrorism” and appealed for Nigeria to “choose reason over ruin.”
“We stand with the Gbagi people and every other indigenous nationality facing existential threats from Fulani neo-colonial conquest dressed up as national policy,” the group said.
“Our diversity must be respected, our cultures preserved, and our ancestral lands protected.”
