The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has admonished the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to call its members who are violent to order.

Samson Ayokunle, president of CAN, made the call at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, herdsmen cannot regain the trust and respect of Nigerians until they stop being violent.

He said people had been coexisting peacefully with them (herdsmen) for many years in various communities not until they created enemies for themselves.

He also added that nobody hated the Fulani until they began to act “violently”, killing “innocent people”.

“If there was any enemy from any Fulani man, the Fulani man created the enemy for himself, they have been living peacefully for many years in our various communities, till the killing issues started,” he said.

“In those days, our children married them, they married our children, but when they became too violent and started carrying AK-47, killing people, what type of play is that? That’s a dangerous play.

“We can no longer think we are friends with that type of play; it’s too dangerous. So let them call their people to order and ensure that they remove the enmity they have created around an average Fulani person.”

Ayokunle charged the government to step up its security system across the country with a view to stopping the unending killings.