The Nigerian social media landscape erupted in November 2025 as Daniel Etim-Effiong's thriller The Herd premiered on Netflix, sparking one of the most intense debates of the year. The film, which depicts a wedding party ambushed by gunmen disguised as cattle herders, has amassed over 30 million views since its November 21 release, but its success has been shadowed by fierce backlash from the Arewa community.
The Film That Divided a Nation
The Herd follows protagonist Gosi, who is privately dealing with his wife's recurrent cancer scare, as he joins friends to celebrate their wedding. The celebration turns into a nightmare when the wedding party is kidnapped by gunmen disguised as cattle herdsmen on their way back to the hotel. The film explores themes of insecurity, betrayal, and the hidden forces destroying lives in Nigeria, capturing a tense fight for survival that includes ransom negotiations and moral compromises.
What makes the film particularly nuanced is its diverse portrayal of criminals. The gang includes Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo characters, emphasizing 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. Meanwhile, a Yoruba pastor is complicit in the body parts trade, and the hero detective who helps rescue the victims is a Muslim from the North.
The film previously enjoyed successful theatrical run, earning N47.1 million in its opening weekend on October 17 and grossing N166.2 million over three weeks in Nigerian cinemas before its Netflix release ignited the current controversy.
Arewa Community's Strong Reaction
The backlash from Northern Nigerian communities came swiftly and forcefully. Bashir Ahmad, former digital aide to ex-President Buhari, penned one of the most prominent critiques on X (formerly Twitter), expressing concerns about stereotyping.
"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," Ahmad wrote. "It is about the dangerous consequences of profiling an entire ethnic group and region that has already suffered immensely from years of insecurity."
Ahmad specifically pointed 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 argued, while acknowledging that some bandits are indeed Fulani but emphasizing that "the overwhelming majority of Fulani herders are innocent and also among the very victims that have suffered the most from these terrorists."
Another social media user, @Nicegirljojo, expressed exhaustion with the portrayal: "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 Stark Reality of Nigeria's Kidnapping Crisis
While the debate about The Herd raged online, real-life kidnappings continued unabated across northern Nigeria, creating what many see as a disturbing contrast in public reaction.
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. While one girl managed to escape, 24 others remain missing.
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, prompting authorities in nearby Katsina and Plateau states to order all schools to close as a precautionary measure.
These incidents are part of a larger pattern that has seen at least 1,500 students kidnapped across Nigeria since Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from Chibok in April 2014, with many Chibok girls still missing more than a decade later.
Art Versus Reality: The Uncomfortable Questions
The timing and intensity of the backlash against The Herd has prompted difficult questions across Nigerian social media. Many are asking why a movie reflecting Nigeria's brutal reality is generating more visible outrage from the Arewa community than the actual crimes it portrays.
One social media user captured this sentiment starkly: "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!!!"
Another user noted: "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."
What adds complexity to the debate is that many critics of the film, including Bashir Ahmad, admitted to not having watched the full movie. Ahmad acknowledged writing his critique based on watching only the teaser, raising questions about how many of those calling for boycotts have actually seen what they're condemning.
As @unicodeveloper pointed out in defense of the film's nuance: "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 while featuring a Muslim hero from the North, suggesting the creators aimed for a balanced critique of Nigeria's security challenges rather than targeting any specific community.
The controversy surrounding The Herd ultimately raises fundamental questions about art's responsibility in times of crisis. Should Nigerian filmmakers sanitize reality to protect feelings? Should they avoid depicting herder-related violence because it might fuel prejudice, even when such violence is documented, ongoing, and terrorizing communities?
As the debate continues, The Herd has transcended its role as mere entertainment, becoming a mirror reflecting Nigeria's complex relationship with its own harsh realities and the difficult conversations the nation must have about security, representation, and truth-telling in art.
