“Hausa is not Fulani” – Valencia’s Sadiq Umar lashes out after 16 Northerners lynched in Edo

Valencia forward and Super Eagles striker, Sadiq Umar, has condemned the mob killing of 16 Hausa travellers in Edo State, Soccernet.ng reports. 

The Real Sociedad loanee lashed out at people's ignorance following the tragic death of over a dozen northern travellers who were mistaken for kidnappers and lynched in Edo State.

Reports confirmed that 16 Hausa hunters, travelling from Port Harcourt to Kano for the Sallah festivities, were brutally attacked and burned alive by a mob after being falsely labelled Fulani herdsmen and kidnappers while passing through a community in Edo.

Why did Umar react to Fulani/Hausa mix-up?

According to witnesses and emerging reports, the victims were part of a Dangote cement truck heading back to the North when locals in a Udune Efandion community within Edo State allegedly blocked their route, searched their truck, accused them of being part of criminal herder gangs, and delivered mob justice on the spot.

The brutal and unjust killing of 16 innocent Hausa travelers in Edo State is a horrifying tragedy that demands an immediate and resolute response. The fact that such a heinous act could unfold so viciously, based solely on false accusations, exposes the deep-rooted dangers of mob… pic.twitter.com/Vb31Aewv7a

— . (@Nawas_masood) March 28, 2025

Eyewitnesses claim the men were burned in tyres, which left no chance for explanation or due process. Another, per Punch, claimed that on searching their truck, Dane guns were reportedly discovered, and the mobs were triggered.

Sadiq Umar Speaks Out

Reacting to the horrifying news, Sadiq Umar took to his social media platforms to school Nigerians on the difference between the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups.

The Super Eagles attacker, born in Kaduna, believes there has been a distinction often overlooked or misrepresented in southern narratives.

“Only the ignorant don't know the difference between Hausa and Fulani,” Sadiq posted. “Hausa is a tribe from the North on its own, with both Muslims and Christians in it, and with good and bad people like any other tribe.
[It is the] same as the Fulani, who have their own language (Fulatanchi) and are also made up of both Muslims and Christians. Ignorance is killing people. We have good and bad people in every tribe.”

His post comes amid growing frustration from northerners who say they are unfairly stereotyped and targeted in Southern Nigeria due to escalating tensions surrounding herdsmen violence and kidnapping.