Following the sacking of communities in Idomaland, North-Central Nigeria, and a groundswell of anger against the activities of cattle rearers, mainly of the Fulani ethnic stock, the community folks in the area are asking the Fulani herders to leave their land.
In fact, the Chairman of Agatu Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, James Melvin Ejeh, at the weekend issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen to vacate all farmlands in the area.
This comes as a resident and tribal chief of a community in the ethnic group narrated how his community leader was hacked down by Fulani men.
“I saw five Fulani extremists struggling with one of our tribal chiefs, Samuel Ebonyi Idoko,” he said, blinking back tears. “Chief Idoko had managed to shoot one of the terrorists, but the others — like a pack of wild dogs — descended on him, slashing him mercilessly with machetes,” said 67 years old Samuel Ebute.
The Federal and state governments are yet to officially react to Ejeh’s directive during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held at the council secretariat in Obagaji. At the meeting were traditional rulers, Fulani leaders, youth representatives, and security officials.
Recall that following attacks in Otukpo and other Idoma speaking communities, a four-term senator, former army general, and Senate President, David Mark, had advocated for self-defense.
The local government executive stated that agriculture is the lifeblood of Agatu’s economy and that uninterrupted access to farmland is non-negotiable.
“Our farmers must cultivate without disruption. We will do everything necessary to create a safe environment for them,” he said at a meeting attended by the representatives of different security agence
The Ardo Fulani, who is head of the Fulani
community, requested a week’s grace period to enable the herders relocate peacefully. It was granted.
The head of the Agatu Youth group, Mr. Oloche Silas, pledged support for a peaceful evacuation, promising that youths would avoid any acts of violence or provocation.
Chief John Agidani, representing the traditional ruler of the Agatu people, Och’Agatu, commended the council’s proactive leadership and urged all parties to strictly adhere to the agreement for the sake of lasting peace.
Tivland is not spared as markets, clinics, schools, and churches have been destroyed as an official report has shown.
50 communities across five local government areas have been displaced by armed herdsmen, according to the report by the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
The agency’s findings reveal that Gwer West Local Government Area has suffered the heaviest blow, with all 15 council wards — including Sengev, Saav, Mbapa, Tsambe/Mbesev, among others — experiencing violent incursions that have forced thousands from their homes.
The report, “Displaced Communities in Benue State Where Fulanis Have Settled with Their Cows,” highlights a widespread pattern of land takeover, displacing families from Guma, Gwer East, Kwande, and even Makurdi, the state capital.
In Guma LGA alone, communities in Mbadwem, Nyiev, Mbaba, Uvir, and Mbayer/Yandev wards have been sacked. In Gwer East, Mbalom ward has fallen silent as residents flee, while Makurdi’s Mbalagh and Bar wards are battling similar fates. Kwande’s Moon and Anwase wards have also suffered devastating losses.
“There are many more affected communities beyond this list,” said Terna Ager, SEMA’s Information Officer. “The figures are likely to rise.”
Survivors have flooded into 13 overcrowded internally displaced persons (IDP) camps scattered across the state, while many others are crammed into relatives’ homes, hoping for safety.
Iorbee Ihagh, a retired Comptroller of Prisons and President of Mdzou U Tiv Worldwide, described the reality from Moon ward in Kwande LGA, where entire communities have been abandoned for years.
Calling for urgent federal intervention, Ihagh said, “Benue is dying slowly. A state of emergency is no longer an option — it is a necessity.”
“Many IDPs have endured life in camps for more than eight years, watching their dreams of returning home slip away with each new attack.”
Another report by TruthNigeria.com said it was a day of horror for 67-year-old Samuel Ebute, tribal leader of the Otobi Akpa community, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, began like any other day — filled with quiet joy as he tended his beloved yam farm near the Otukpo Dam
But by evening, his peaceful world would be ripped apart.
“I was harvesting my yams around 4:50 p.m. when I heard a loud, thunderous bang — and then another, even louder,” Ebute recalled, his voice trembling. “The sounds came from the direction of my village, Otobi Akpa.”
Alarmed, he sprinted back toward his home. What he found would haunt him forever.
Ebute charged forward with only a machete in hand. But the attackers quickly overwhelmed him.
“Five of them rushed at me,” he whispered. “Before I could raise my weapon, they had knocked me down. I remember feeling their machetes tear into me — a savage cut across my face, blood blinding my eyes, more blows raining down on my head.”
Collapsed and bleeding, Ebute became a living witness to the terror unleashed on his people.
A Community Torn Apart
Ebute was not the only one caught in the bloodshed.
Moses Duwai, a 40-year-old farmer and father of four, told TruthNigeria that his younger brother was slaughtered in the attack, leaving behind a widow and four children.
“We are devastated,” Duwai said simply.
Peter Ogaja, the secretary and youth leader of Otobi Akpa, described a scene of horror that defies belief.
“More than 10 persons — including young boys and girls between 4 and 9 years old — were butchered to death,” he said. “We counted 11 dead bodies, including two boys and three little girls.”
Confirming the tragedy, Hon. Angbo Kennedy, the lawmaker representing Otukpo/Akpa State Constituency, told TruthNigeria TV that at least 11 people were killed, and 50 homes were set ablaze.
The wounded included Ebute Daniel, Elvis Ebbah, and Paul Okwori.
Kennedy noted that the violence even spilled into neighboring villages.
Why the Attack?
According to Hon. Kennedy, the attacks were unprovoked — a brutal campaign to drive indigenous communities like the Akpa and Idoma from their ancestral lands.
“There are no justifiable reasons for these attacks,” Kennedy said. “The Fulani militants are intent on displacing our people, occupying their ancestral lands, and converting the fertile land into grazing fields for their cattle.”
John Scotty Anyebe, National President of the Otobi Akpa Development Association, echoed the warning.
“Apart from seizing our lands, they are also bent on erasing our culture, our religion, and our identity,” Anyebe said. “We won’t accept that.”
Just a week after the village attack, the outspoken Bishop Wilfred Anagbe returned to his diocese in Makurdi, the state capital. The bishop’s frank testimony before a U.S. Congressional Committee on March 12 became a magnet for global media who increasingly are concerned about the long-running genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
“We Never Saw Them as a Threat”
Located about 114 kilometers southwest of Makurdi, Benue’s capital, Otobi-Akpa is a quiet, farming community known for its rich soil and palm trees.
Until the attack, villagers lived in relative peace with Fulani herders who roamed nearby forests.
“Up until that day, we saw them merely as cattle rearers,” one survivor said. “We never saw them as a threat.”
That trust proved fatal.
According to survivors, an estimated 15 Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) fighters split into three groups, attacking from three directions to catch the village off-guard.
Otobi Akpa and surrounding communities, home to between 20,000 and 50,000 people, are predominantly Christian, worshipping in Methodist, Ecumenical Church Winning All (ECWA), Catholic, among others.
The main languages spoken are Akpa and Idoma.
Otobi-Akpa Today: A Ghost Town
Today, Otobi Akpa stands as a shattered community.
“We used to have over 20,000 people here,” Ogaja said. “Today, we can count fewer than 30.”
Most residents have fled to Otukpo and other safer areas, leaving behind empty homes and abandoned farms.
“I want to relocate my family to Otukpo,” Ogaja added, “then come back to help defend our land.”
A Bleeding Heartland
The tragedy of Otobi Akpa is not just the loss of life and property.
It is the attempted erasure of a people — their culture, their faith, their very right to exist on the land of their ancestors.
As Ebute, now scarred for life, put it simply:
“We have nowhere else to go. This is our home. We will not give it up.”
● Additional report by Mike Odeh James and Olivia Ekani, conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
