'The Herd' Didn’t Invent Insecurity, Why Are We Upset About It?

The film, which depicts a wedding party ambushed by gunmen disguised as cattle herders, has amassed over 30 million views. But its success has been shadowed by fierce backlash from the Arewa community, with some calling for Netflix boycotts and accusing the filmmakers of bigotry.

The irony is impossible to ignore: a movie about kidnapping has generated more visible outrage from Northern Nigerians on social media than the actual kidnappings ravaging their region.

What Is ‘The Herd’ About?

The Herd follows Gosi, who is privately dealing with his wife's recurrent cancer scare, as he joins friends to celebrate their wedding. Things take a drastic turn when, on their way back to the hotel, they are kidnapped by gunmen disguised as cattle herdsmen.

The film captures a tense fight for survival, exploring themes of insecurity, betrayal, and the hidden forces destroying lives in Nigeria. What begins as a joyful celebration quickly descends into a nightmare of violence, ransom negotiations, and moral compromises.

The ‘criminals’ in the film include Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo characters, a reminder that banditry is not an ethnic plague but a criminal economy. 

The gang performs Islamic prayers when it suits them, yet murders innocents and trades in human body parts. A Yoruba pastor is complicit in the body parts trade, while the hero detective who helps rescue the victims is a Muslim from the North.

The movie was released in Nigerian cinemas on October 17, where it earned N47.1 million in its opening weekend and has grossed N166.2 million in over three weeks. Its subsequent Netflix release sparked the controversy that continues to divide Nigerian social media.

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The Arewa Community's Grievances

The backlash came swiftly. Bashir Ahmad, former digital aide to ex-President Buhari, penned one of the most prominent critiques on X (formerly Twitter):

"The reason why some Arewa people are angry about The Herd movie is not that we are denying the reality of banditry, far from it. It is about the dangerous consequences of profiling an entire ethnic group and region that has already suffered immensely from years of insecurity."

Ahmad's main concern centres on stereotyping. He points to the film's opening scene where Fulani herders cross the road with cattle, then suddenly pull out guns and begin shooting indiscriminately. "This single scene paints a picture that is actually facile as it is dangerously inaccurate," he wrote.

He acknowledges that some bandits are indeed Fulani, but argues that "the overwhelming majority of Fulani herders are innocent and also among the very victims that have suffered the most from these terrorists. Many have lost their cattle, their livelihoods and their families."

Another user, @Nicegirljojo, expressed exhaustion with how Islam and Arewa are portrayed: "Just finished watching 'The Herd' and honestly? I'm tired. The way Islam and Arewa keep getting painted in the darkest light is exhausting. Yes, these things happen, but the constant one-sided portrayal isn't helping anyone. Muslims deserve better storytelling than this."

The core of their argument is this: while the film depicts real crimes, it reinforces harmful stereotypes that fuel discrimination against innocent people. 

They fear that international audiences will walk away believing every Fulani herder is a terrorist, deepening existing stigma and potentially inciting violence against innocent communities.

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Reality Cannot Be Ignored

The response to these criticisms has been swift and, at times, brutal. Many Nigerians are asking: when did telling the truth become bigotry?

One user cut straight to the heart of the matter: "Do you know that the movie 'The Herd' generated more outrage from northerners on this app than the insecurity ravaging the region? Foolish, stinking hypocrites!!!"

This sentiment echoes across Nigerian social media. People are pointing out that while "The Herd" is trending with angry responses, the actual kidnappings happening in real-time receive far less vocal opposition from the same community.

And the timing couldn't be more stark.

The Reality: Kidnappings Are Happening

On November 18, 2025, just days before The Herd premiered on Netflix, gunmen attacked Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Kebbi state's Maga town, abducting 25 schoolgirls and killing the school's vice principal. The attackers scaled the fence, exchanged gunfire with police, and seized the girls before dawn.

One girl managed to escape and return home, but 24 others remain missing. Mass school kidnappings are especially common in northern Nigeria, and the Kebbi school is close to conflict hot spots, including Zamfara and Sokoto states, where several gangs operate and hide out.

Then, on November 21, the very day The Herd premiered on Netflix, armed men raided St. Mary's Catholic school in Niger state, abducting 303 students and 12 teachers. 

This attack came less than a week after the Kebbi kidnapping. Authorities in nearby Katsina and Plateau states ordered all schools to close as a precautionary measure.

These aren't isolated incidents. At least 1,500 students have been kidnapped across Nigeria since Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from Chibok in April 2014. Many of those Chibok girls are still missing, more than a decade later.

This is the reality The Herd depicts. Not exaggeration. Reality.

The Question Nobody Wants to Answer

So here's the uncomfortable question: why is a movie reflecting Nigeria's brutal reality generating more visible outrage from the Arewa community than the actual crimes it portrays?

Where was this collective fury when the Kebbi girls were taken? Where were the trending hashtags when 303 students were kidnapped from St. Mary's school? 

Where is the sustained social media campaign demanding accountability from security forces, from state governments, from traditional rulers?

As one user put it: "Nigerians complain that producers don't tell relatable stories. They do, we say that the stories are profiling a region."

Another wrote: "This is the most expressive I've seen Arewa people. Kidnapping, terrorising, killings, rape, and genocide didn't trigger them, but a movie did. If they truly don't want the profiling, they need to find a way to make all this madness stop, or we will continue to profile them."

The Film's Actual Nuance Gets Lost

What's particularly frustrating about this debate is that critics who actually watched The Herd point out that the film is far more nuanced than its detractors claim.

As @unicodeveloper noted: "You are a liar & you will soon start stealing. You didn't watch the movie! Same movie that also had: Chief Detective that saved them (Muslim & Arewa), Body parts trafficker (Pastor & Yoruba), Evil Parents of the wife (Igbo), Yoruba kidnapper."

The film deliberately shows criminals from multiple ethnic groups, and the hero who helps rescue the victims is a Muslim detective from the North. 

The body parts trade involves a Yoruba pastor. The protagonist's Igbo in-laws are portrayed as judgmental and prejudiced, refusing to help rescue their own son unless his wife agrees to divorce him afterwards because she's Osu, a lower caste in Igbo traditional society.

The film doesn't single out any one group. It indicts an entire system: corruption, complicity, tribalism, and the breakdown of security across Nigeria. It's an equal-opportunity critique of a broken nation.

Yet Bashir Ahmad admitted he wrote his critique based on watching only the teaser, not the full film. This raises questions about how many of those calling for boycotts have actually seen what they're condemning. 

Art's Responsibility vs. Reality’s Demands

There's validity to concerns about stereotyping. Film and media do shape perceptions, especially internationally. A viewer in London or New York watching The Herd might indeed walk away with simplified ideas about who commits crimes in Nigeria.

But here's the counter-argument: should Nigerian filmmakers sanitise reality to protect feelings? Should they avoid depicting herder-related violence because it might fuel prejudice, even when such violence is documented, ongoing, and terrorising communities?

If we follow that logic, can we make films about corruption? Won't that make foreigners think all Nigerian officials are corrupt? Can we make films about police brutality? Won't that profile law enforcement? Can we make films about cyber fraud? Won't that reinforce the "Yahoo boy" stereotype?

At what point does protecting a group's image become complicity in silence about real harm?

The Herd no longer feels like a story created for the screen. Daniel Etim-Effiong's crime thriller has taken on an unsettling relevance, blurring the line between fiction and the country's daily reality. 

The film forces Nigerians to confront a truth many would rather avoid; its depiction of kidnapping, the forests, the fear, and the randomness of violence mirrors the same tragedies dominating headlines today.

The Uncomfortable Truth

The anger about The Herd isn't really about stereotyping. It's about discomfort with being associated with a problem that the region has failed to adequately address.

Northern Nigeria has a banditry crisis. Armed gangs, many operating from forests in states like Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, and Kebbi, have terrorised communities for years. They kidnap schoolchildren, raid villages, demand ransoms, and operate with relative impunity. Some of these bandits are indeed Fulani, though not all Fulani are bandits, a distinction the film actually makes.

But instead of the community's rage being directed at the criminals destroying lives and livelihoods, or at the government's failure to protect citizens, or at traditional rulers who sometimes negotiate with bandits instead of supporting their elimination, the rage is directed at a filmmaker who dared to dramatise what everyone already knows is happening.

It's getting more and more difficult to fight for the Northern region when the community seems more concerned about image management than addressing the root causes of the image problem.

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