Tuesday’s bloody attack on a market in Abande community, Mbaikyor Ward, Turan, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, which resulted in the killing of no fewer than 17 people, burning of houses and destruction of property worth more than N500 million, did not come as a surprise to many members of the community.
Lawrence Akerigba, a member of the community told The Nation that security reports to that effect were passed to all the security agencies in Kwande Local Government Area.
Akerigba said: “We got information that suspected heavily armed herdsmen were camped in Kashimbila, Taraba State, preparing to launch an attack on Abande on market day.”
“We shared the information on our community Whatsapp group and immediately informed the police office in Abande.”
He said in the whole of Abande, there were only three policemen while the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) killed by the suspected herdsmen was the officer in charge.
“There are now only two policemen remaining, policing a community of over one million people,” he added.
According to Akerigba, the suspected armed men stormed Abande on market day while buying and selling was going on at about 3 pm.
“They stormed the Abande Market and shot at traders indiscriminately.
“There was chaos. People were gunned down—children, women, everyone in sight. It was like a horror film.”
He said in the melee that ensued, people ran in different directions, and some sustained injuries.
“The invaders broke into stores in the market and brazenly carted away a lot of foodstuffs and forcibly collected cash from traders.”
“They looted shops and collected cash from poor traders, because it was on market day.
“They collected more than N100 million, because there is no bank in the area.”
On the casualty figures, Akerigba said 17 persons were confirmed dead following the violent attack.
By 11:55 pm local time, some of the victims’ bodies were conveyed to Jato Aka by personnel of the Mobile Police Force stationed in the area.
He said: “Among the deceased were Iornunbe Agba, Chia Kile, Terseer Shenge, Mker Ugbe, Emmanuel Agba, Ortswen Gbinde and a Mobile Police officer (the unit commander), who was on duty at the time of the incident. So many others are missing.”
The Nation investigation revealed that Abande is a settlement close to Anwase, also in Kwande Local Government area, where more than 28 people were brutally murdered on Christmas Day in 2024.
The Nation also gathered that since the beginning of the year, people were being attacked by suspected bandits on a daily basis.
The Nation findings revealed that the attacks might not be unconnected with solid mineral deposits in the area, which shares international border with Southern Cameron.
Lawrence Akerigba lamented that neither the Benue State Government nor the Federal Government was doing enough to protect the community.
“Bandits are being protected as they roam free with AK 47, destroying our sources of livelihood.
“Our farms, economic trees and houses have been destroyed. Our children and wives are raped.
“We are on international border with Cameroon, yet no state or federal government presence in our area.”
The Cameroonian government has constructed a road to Jonwater, the last village bordering Nigeria, with security agents stationed there.
Lawrence Akerigba calls on the Federal Government to do what Cameron has done for its people so that the lives of Kwande people would safe.
The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, has dispatched a Deputy Commissioner of Police with additional tactical squad to reinforce and secure Kwande communities.
The Nation learnt some of the wounded were in the hospital receiving treatments while others had moved into the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps.
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has also directed security agencies to moved into rural communities and protect lives and property.
Tension is mounting in Umeh, a riverine community in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, following reports of attacks on residents and travellers allegedly carried out by herdsmen.
A community leader and lawyer, Akpovienehe Duncan Afahakor, raised the alarm on Wednesday in a post on the Facebook platform Umeh Need Road, cautioning that the security situation was rapidly worsening.
In the post titled “Umeh Under Attack,” Afahakor claimed that armed herdsmen had occupied farmlands and were attacking road users.
“No one truly understands the intentions of the Fulani group. They have occupied the Umeh bushes, preventing our people from accessing their farms. Beyond this, they emerge from the bush to attack motorcycle riders along the Umeh bridge. Just two days ago, without any provocation, one of our youths was shot in the leg multiple times,” he wrote.
According to him, the development has crippled farming activities in the agrarian community.
“As a result, we can no longer go to our farms to tend to our pepper, cassava, and plantain crops. The attacks have now extended to the road, and if urgent help does not arrive, there is real fear that the violence could spread into the community itself,” the post added.
Umeh, which gained access by road during the administration of former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan following sustained advocacy on the Umeh Need Road platform, is mostly dependent on farming and riverine trade.
When contacted, the Isoko South Local Government Council, through the Chairman ‘s Chief Press Secretary, Michael Akpodhoma said it would communicate its action on the matter by Thursday.
However, the Delta State Police Command said it had not received any formal report of the alleged attack.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, told The Nation “we don’t have that report.”
Residents are calling for urgent intervention by the State Government and security agencies to prevent further escalation.
Suspected armed herdsmen have killed three persons in Udeku Maav-Ya, Mbakyol Council Ward in Turan, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State with many still missing.
Kwande Local Government Area, which shares international boundary with Southern Cameron and border with Taraba State, has come under herdsmen attacks for 15 years.
Those killed are Tyozua Gyuse, Gbaga Gyuse and Tersuur Ijighka.
Some of the wards have been taken over by suspected bandits for years, while inhabitants remained in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.
A community leader, Chief Lawrence Akerigba, who spoke to The Nation on phone, said: “Farmers were harvesting yams and Barbara nuts when some unknown gunmen appeared from all directions and shot three persons dead.
“Many others sustained body injuries, while others are still missing. The unprovoked attack by the herders is a clear sign of land grabbing.
“We have not seen this number of Fulani in our place. Everyday about 4am, they will start shooting. They don’t allow people to have access to the river bank to fetch water. They have destroyed crops, houses and economic trees. Our children no longer go to school, churches closed, our markets destroyed.
“We received not much attention from the government. Any time our people are killed, they come with promises and at the end, nothing is done. We are at the mercy of the herders.’’
In Plateau State, suspected herdsmen on Tuesday killed four men: Mr. Pius Luka Dida, 23; Markus Danladi, 55; Peter, 27; and Acham Ayuba, 24 in Jot community in Riyom Local Government Area and Gero in Gyel District of Jos South Local Government Area.
Berom youths lamented that the attacks were becoming too many. It blamed the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) under the leadership of Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, for twisting the facts about the attacks.
Beyond the killings, the herders also destroyed dry-season farmlands in Kwi, inflicting losses of over N14 million on farmers.
The Berom youths, therefore, demanded the proscription of MACBAN.
Nasarawa State Police Command has debunked viral reports of herdsmen attack and disrupted crusade in Agboda village, Karu local government area of the state.
A statement by the Command Public Relations Officer, PRO Raham Nansel expressed disappointment over some publications circulating on various media platforms and social media with the caption “Panic as Herdsmen Disrupt Nasarawa crusade, forcing worshippers to flee.”
“The Command categorically states that no herdsmen attack occurred anywhere in Nasarawa State, and the published reports, including the video in circulation, do not reflect the true situation in Agboda Village. The publication is therefore a gross misrepresentation of facts.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that on 24 November 2025 at about 1900 hours, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mararaba Udege Division, received information that a motorcyclist was attacked by unknown persons along a feeder road leading to Agboda Village.
” The victim sustained a machete cut, and his motorcycle was taken away by the assailants.
“Upon receipt of the report, the DPO immediately contacted vigilante members in the area, who in conjunction with the police pursued the suspects.
“The criminals abandoned the stolen motorcycle and fled. The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he is currently responding to treatment, while his motorcycle was recovered.
“Further investigation revealed that Daniel Ukpo, who made the viral video claims, is presently in police custody. He has confirmed that there was no herdsmen attack and no disruption of any crusade as reported.
“He explained that upon learning about the robbery incident, residents rushed to the scene, during which he recorded the video that is now being misrepresented online.
“In view of the above, the Commissioner of Police, CP Shetima Jauro Mohammed calls on religious leaders to use their platforms to promote peace and harmony and to refrain from making statements capable of inciting tension within the State and the country at large” the statement added
Wife of Benjamin, who was declared missing during Saturday attack, was fortunate to have regained freedom after severe torture.
She has since reunited with the family, according to a family source.
Chairman, Guma Local Government Area, who doubles as Chairman of ALGON Benue State, Chief Maurice Orwough, said another woman was abducted by the herdsmen and toured with serious injuries at her back was rescued.
The victims are residents of Tse-Nyibiam, close to Ngban, Nyiev council ward of Guma Local Government Area.
Orwough said he had directed security agencies to fish out the killers. He appealed for end to the crisis.
On June 1, majority of the residents of Apa local government area of Benue State were in tears from the loss of 37 loved ones and the burninginto ashes of many houses and farm produce worth millions of naira as a result of herdsmen attacks that saw the entire Esikwu Ankpali communities deserted, LINUS OOTA reports.
In the last one week, houses, farm produce and other valuable properties in Esikwu Ankpali community of Apa Local Government Area, Benue State was in danger as the killing of 37 persons and burning down of houses culminated in a mass burial.
While the effects of herdsmen attacks on the community were generally devastating, only one who has not heard details of the fate that befell Angelina Oguche would would consider her a lucky survivor of the June 1 attacks.
A full account shows that her situation is as tragic as that of the dead. Her husband and father of her little girl and unborn child was killed when the rampaging herdsmen overran tthe entire Ankpali community. Widowed and now a refugee, the widow is condemned to continue life’s journey alone with the onerous task of bringing up her little child as well as the unborn one.
Our correspondent located the sorrowful widow in a hospital at the headquarters of Apa Local Government Area where she was receiving treatment, and she obliged to talk briefly to our correspondent with an emotional account of how her husband, Samuel Oguche, woke up on that fateful day without any premonition that his path would cross with that of the killer herdsmen that murder him in cold blood.
Reconstruct the events of the tragic day, she said: “June 1 is a day I am trying to forget. On that fateful day, my husband and I were farming close to the house, I am heavily pregnant. My husband noticed that I was sad and asked what the problem was.
“I told him that I didn’t know but that I was feeling uneasy and confused in my thoughts. I could not understand how I felt, but it was as if I was about to lose something dear to me.
“A few minutes later, I felt like drinking water and told my husband that I was going to get water. He kissed me goodbye and told me not to be long. I responded with a smile, not knowing that tthat it was the last time I would see him or hear his voice.
“Upon my return, I could not find my husband, but I was not worried at first. I looked around but there was no sign of him anywhere on the farm.
“I became worried and started calling out his name from one side of the farm to the other. Suddenly, I heard a response from the other end of the farm.
“To confirm that it was truely a voice that I heard, I called out again and I got a response, but it did not sound like my husband’s voice. I then began to wonder what had happened to him.
“I started walking towards the area where the voice I heard was coming from. Although I was not fully convinced it was my husband’s voice, I was determined to go and see what was happening.
“When I got there, I saw my husband lying lifeless in a pool blood and his corpse was surrounded by a number of herdsmen.
“One of them who pretended to be my husband was the one that had lured me to where they were. It was like my heart stopped beating.
“I suddenly developed cold feet, and there were goose bumps all over my body. I thought of my pregnancy and cried my heart out.
“I was in a lot of pain, but when I saw them coming towards me, I began to run. Luck was, however, not on my side as I.stumbled and fell.
“One of them aimed his machete at my stomach, but I quickly used my hands and head to shield my unborn child. I felt a cut on my leg, and it was so painful that I couldn’t even scream. My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I used my left hand to try to stop the blood.
“I had never felt so miserable. The pain I felt at that moment cannot be compared to anything on earth. I felt another cut at the back of my head.
“Because of the injury, I suddenly felt dizzy, I saw one of them with a knife in his hand; he raised his arm to stab me, but I pretended to be dead. That, for sure, was my rescue.
“After they left, a villager, who had been watching from a hiding place, rushed me to the hospital. I can’t thank God enough for keeping my baby safe in the womb and for sparing my life.
“I am grateful to God for keeping me alive, I have learned to adjust and deal with this likely lifelong trauma, but my husband is no more.”
The poignant recollection drew tears from the widow’s eyes, and she broke down again, wailing, “when my husband kissed me on the farm, little did I know he would not eat again and that it was the last time I would see him.:
“Losing your partner in his prime is a lifetime scar that can never heal. It is traumatic”.
Her husband’s death, she said, is like a bad dream she wished she could wake up from, “There is no day since June 1 that I don’t feel loneliness inside me,
“Life has not been the same without him around and will not be same any longer.
“Before death came knocking on June 1, we were inseparable. I’m mentally tortured when I realise he is no more,” she said amid tears.
While the repirter was at the hospital, a young man rode in on a motorcycle carrying his deceased brother who was also killed by herdsmen. He had come to deposit the corpse at the hospital.
The bereaved young man who was in tears could not have given account on how his brother was brutally murdered by the herdsmen. All he can say was “I still can’t believe the pain of this whole loss. My heart is broken.
“I cannot believe that I backed my deceasad brother from the point he was killed to this place, I literally can’t bear it”
Our correspondent gathered that the social and economic lives of the people were so devastated that schools, hospitals, businesses, government, and financial institutions closed down in the entire Ankpali area. The destructions caused by the burning down of houses and farm produce as well as business ventures is reckoned to worth millions of naira.
Going round some of the affected areas, our correspondent discovered that most of the villagers had deserted their homes and the few surviving houses had become a shadow of their former selves.
Domestic animals like goats and fowls were seen moving around the deserted burnt houses in pristine innocence and without anybody to give them direction.
Food items of different sorts were burnt to ashes, signaling possible outbreak of famine in the coming season as bags of gari and yam flour were also not left out.
On June 1, majority of the residents of Apa local government area of Benue State were in tears from the loss of 37 loved ones and the burninginto ashes of many houses and farm produce worth millions of naira as a result of herdsmen attacks that saw the entire Esikwu Ankpali communities deserted, LINUS OOTA reports.
In the last one week, houses, farm produce and other valuable properties in Esikwu Ankpali community of Apa Local Government Area, Benue State was in danger as the killing of 37 persons and burning down of houses culminated in a mass burial.
While the effects of herdsmen attacks on the community were generally devastating, only one who has not heard details of the fate that befell Angelina Oguche would would consider her a lucky survivor of the June 1 attacks.
A full account shows that her situation is as tragic as that of the dead. Her husband and father of her little girl and unborn child was killed when the rampaging herdsmen overran tthe entire Ankpali community. Widowed and now a refugee, the widow is condemned to continue life’s journey alone with the onerous task of bringing up her little child as well as the unborn one.
Our correspondent located the sorrowful widow in a hospital at the headquarters of Apa Local Government Area where she was receiving treatment, and she obliged to talk briefly to our correspondent with an emotional account of how her husband, Samuel Oguche, woke up on that fateful day without any premonition that his path would cross with that of the killer herdsmen that murder him in cold blood.
Reconstruct the events of the tragic day, she said: “June 1 is a day I am trying to forget. On that fateful day, my husband and I were farming close to the house, I am heavily pregnant. My husband noticed that I was sad and asked what the problem was.
“I told him that I didn’t know but that I was feeling uneasy and confused in my thoughts. I could not understand how I felt, but it was as if I was about to lose something dear to me.
“A few minutes later, I felt like drinking water and told my husband that I was going to get water. He kissed me goodbye and told me not to be long. I responded with a smile, not knowing that tthat it was the last time I would see him or hear his voice.
“Upon my return, I could not find my husband, but I was not worried at first. I looked around but there was no sign of him anywhere on the farm.
“I became worried and started calling out his name from one side of the farm to the other. Suddenly, I heard a response from the other end of the farm.
“To confirm that it was truely a voice that I heard, I called out again and I got a response, but it did not sound like my husband’s voice. I then began to wonder what had happened to him.
“I started walking towards the area where the voice I heard was coming from. Although I was not fully convinced it was my husband’s voice, I was determined to go and see what was happening.
“When I got there, I saw my husband lying lifeless in a pool blood and his corpse was surrounded by a number of herdsmen.
“One of them who pretended to be my husband was the one that had lured me to where they were. It was like my heart stopped beating.
“I suddenly developed cold feet, and there were goose bumps all over my body. I thought of my pregnancy and cried my heart out.
“I was in a lot of pain, but when I saw them coming towards me, I began to run. Luck was, however, not on my side as I.stumbled and fell.
“One of them aimed his machete at my stomach, but I quickly used my hands and head to shield my unborn child. I felt a cut on my leg, and it was so painful that I couldn’t even scream. My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I used my left hand to try to stop the blood.
“I had never felt so miserable. The pain I felt at that moment cannot be compared to anything on earth. I felt another cut at the back of my head.
“Because of the injury, I suddenly felt dizzy, I saw one of them with a knife in his hand; he raised his arm to stab me, but I pretended to be dead. That, for sure, was my rescue.
“After they left, a villager, who had been watching from a hiding place, rushed me to the hospital. I can’t thank God enough for keeping my baby safe in the womb and for sparing my life.
“I am grateful to God for keeping me alive, I have learned to adjust and deal with this likely lifelong trauma, but my husband is no more.”
The poignant recollection drew tears from the widow’s eyes, and she broke down again, wailing, “when my husband kissed me on the farm, little did I know he would not eat again and that it was the last time I would see him.:
“Losing your partner in his prime is a lifetime scar that can never heal. It is traumatic”.
Her husband’s death, she said, is like a bad dream she wished she could wake up from, “There is no day since June 1 that I don’t feel loneliness inside me,
“Life has not been the same without him around and will not be same any longer.
“Before death came knocking on June 1, we were inseparable. I’m mentally tortured when I realise he is no more,” she said amid tears.
While the repirter was at the hospital, a young man rode in on a motorcycle carrying his deceased brother who was also killed by herdsmen. He had come to deposit the corpse at the hospital.
The bereaved young man who was in tears could not have given account on how his brother was brutally murdered by the herdsmen. All he can say was “I still can’t believe the pain of this whole loss. My heart is broken.
“I cannot believe that I backed my deceasad brother from the point he was killed to this place, I literally can’t bear it”
Our correspondent gathered that the social and economic lives of the people were so devastated that schools, hospitals, businesses, government, and financial institutions closed down in the entire Ankpali area. The destructions caused by the burning down of houses and farm produce as well as business ventures is reckoned to worth millions of naira.
Going round some of the affected areas, our correspondent discovered that most of the villagers had deserted their homes and the few surviving houses had become a shadow of their former selves.
Domestic animals like goats and fowls were seen moving around the deserted burnt houses in pristine innocence and without anybody to give them direction.
Food items of different sorts were burnt to ashes, signaling possible outbreak of famine in the coming season as bags of gari and yam flour were also not left out.
No fewer than three people were reportedly killed and several others severely injured on Wednesday, June 4, following a deadly attack by suspected herdsmen along the Agwa, Umuekpu-Ejemekwuru road in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants, armed and unidentified, opened fire on unsuspecting residents in a surprise assault that has left the local community reeling.
In response, the Imo State Police Command launched immediate investigations into the incident.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, condemned the attack in a statement issued on Thursday, describing the violence as “regrettable and unacceptable.”
Authorities have assured the public of intensified security efforts to prevent further incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We have deployed our Tactical Units, equipped with available resources and intelligence, to work closely with other security agencies and local vigilantes to track down the bandits responsible for the recent disturbances in Agwa Community,” CP Danjuma stated.
The police commissioner assured residents that the situation is under control, with enhanced security measures in place to prevent any recurrence. “We will ensure that those responsible face justice,” he emphasized.
According to CP Danjuma, “the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Operations, has launched a well-coordinated search operation across targeted locations, including forests and suspected hideouts. The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) has also been directed to carry out a thorough investigation to apprehend the culprits.”
CP Danjuma extended his deepest condolences to the families affected, assuring them that the police are committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice. “Enhanced security measures have been put in place to prevent any recurrence,” he added.
Or how come, to quote a trending WhatsApp chat, that they are the only ethnic group in Nigeria that is at war with the Eggons in Nassarawa, the Tivs in Benue, the Idomas of Agatu, the Beroms of Plateau, the Adaras of Southern Kaduna, the Mumuyes & June 4 District on the Mambilla, the Hausas of Zamfara, the Igbos of the South East, and the Yorubas of the Southwest?” – the columnist in:
‘Rampaging Fulani Herdsmen: The Akure High Level meeting should have done more, of January 31, 2021.
“Good morning, Uncle Femi,
I came across this in a group chat and I read with interest and alarm. I read every word and keenly too. I don’t know who Adedamola Adetayo is but he sounded neither flippant nor unknowing”.
The immediate quote above is from my dear brother and friend, a Professor of Igbo extraction who I have quoted severally on these pages. Though non – Yoruba, what he read in one of Adedamola Adetayo’s writings on the menace of Aboki’s in Yoruba land jolted him so much he sent it me, not because I can do anything to the seemingly untouchable Northern urchins who were trucked down South by the powers that be in that region during the Buhari years, but at least to allow, through this medium, those we voted into office to ensure our safety in the Southwest not only aware, but do something about them.
Studies, like that by the China Achebe Foundation, have shown that senior Northern military officers deliberately stand down the rank and file from confronting Fulani herdsmen whenever they attack and it is doubtful if same isn’t happening in the Nigerian police. Add to that the preponderance of Northern DPO’s in the police and you’ve blown the cover of why Abokis are now ravaging the Southwest literally unchallenged.
Aboki’s are some hoi polloi, Northern urchins exported to Southwest Nigeria by Northern governors who, in the name of dividends of democracy, bought them thousands of glittering, brand new okadas and trucked them with these characters, complete with cows, AK 47 and sundry arms and ammunition.
Readers of this column would remember my oft- quoted Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM)directive to these rootless Northern youths:
“Northern youths should move enmass to Southern States. Relaunch the mass movement in ways they have never seen … If the towns and cities are hostile, hang out on the street corners, in uncompleted buildings, occupy the forests, pitch tents, make any where available as your abode, your rest places, your home. We urge you to be armed as the infidels may want to attack you”.
One day soon, Yorubas will sing panegyrics to Adedamola Adetayo, the tireless chronicler of the menace of these Northerners in Southwest Nigeria.
Below is what space will permit of his recent capture of the horrendous bestiality of these Northerners in Yoruba land as detailed in a WhatsApp post titled: “Before Tomorrow Comes, a Warning”:
“Just yesterday, I received a report from the IJEGUN area of IKOTUN in Lagos State. It was so troubling that I couldn’t sleep until about 4.30am:
A shop in the area was burgled in the night. It was a phone shop where some youths sell phones, accessories and do repairs. Thieves broke into the shop and cleared out all the phones in sight, including the ones for repairs.
Not long after, an Aboki came into the shop with a phone to repair. It turned out it was one of those stolen. He made to delay the Aboki while he placed a call to the nearest Police post which was Isheri-Osun.
While he waited for the police, the aboki, sensing danger, wanted to leave.
He was prevented and trapped inside the shop.
Next thing he did was to call his kinsmen and gave them his location.
In a flash they were there in huge numbers brandishing different types of dangerous weapons. They TORE DOWN the shop, took him out and made away with him before the Police came.
The report says they encountered the approaching Policemen on the way but it was a non-issue as they openly challenged the police. The Policemen were coming on bikes but had to beat a retreat when they saw the menacing Abokis.
In fact, two of the Okada riders who brought the Policemen were reportedlyh stabbed.
What happened, I later learnt, is the standard and regular practice of the Abokis in the area just as it is the practice in Abeokuta and all over the SW right now.
Indeed, as I also found out, there is at a location in the ÈJẸDÒDÓ area in the axis, called BOWLER which is the central dump site for all the bowler-bowler Abokis of that area. It is seething with the lowest dredges of humanity; and terribly dangerous. Equally
About 80 per cent of Okada riders in the axis , just as it is all over Lagos State and Yoruba land, are Abokis.
ONDO STATE: Very recently we got news that at least three corpses were seen at different locations in front of the Ondo State Government House. Citizens had come to protest the killings of their Kinsmen by so-called Herdsmen who had killed them in cold blood. Somewhere in Okitipupa came another report that a man identified as an Aboki attacked the grandson of Madam Comfort Ọmọ́gè, the musician and, with a knife, slit his throat in broad daylight.
Ditto in the Ikare and many other areas of Ondo State.
OYO STATE – There is a video all over the internet now in which a truckload of people was intercepted somewhere on the Ọ̀YỌ́- IBADAN road. It was loaded to the brim with people, motorcycles and was full of arms and ammunition, hidden underneath. The truck was heading for either Ibadan or Lagos.
And that was just ONE TRUCK out of hundreds which pass that route everyday and night, most of them unchecked.
In SASA market in Ibadan, the report was that a group of Aboki traders killed a Yoruba trader in the course of an argument. By the time the dust settled, there had been a casualty on the side of the Abokis too.
All hell broke loose and Governor Makinde of the State was later seen receiving a high-powered delegation from the North who treated him as if he was caught red handed in a shameful act. The reader would recall a similar visit to a governor of Oyo state by then General Buhari even when they were the aggressor.
OGUN STATE – In Ijebu-Igbo, a regular pattern of the most despicable mode of killings repeatedly happens. Innocent citizens, Ijebus, are kidnapped and their families extorted through ransom payments. Yet the victims are later killed, thrown into wells full of water. The few who escaped usually tell their story.
In the same Ogun State, a Yoruba Okada rider had an altercation with an Aboki rider and before he knew it, fellow Abokis had surrounded him, beat him silly and thereafter took him and his bike with them to their Leader who forced him to pay the offending Aboki before his bike was released to him and set free.
Lllp
I had a personal encounter in Abeokuta in 2018 in front of my business premises. Two Yoruba youths were in an argument with a single Aboki Okada rider. Before they knew it, about 20 other Abokis had swarmed on him ready to pounce.
I made an effort to dowse the tension. Before I did that, and that was what saved my life, I placed a call to the nearest Police station for help. The two Yoruba youths had used the opportunity of the distraction to slip out of the crowd and I was the only one left. They were getting ready to MOB me when the police arrived.
Even at the police station I became the accused and I was going to get locked up in the cell for, apparently, allowing the two youths to escape jungle justice in the hands of the Aboki murderous mob.
6. LAGOS STATE – Mr Olatunji Bakare wasn’t as lucky in Apapa.
He was the LASTMA commander of the sector covering Mile 2, Ijora and Apapa.
On that fateful day in December of 2016, the Abokis had an argument with some LASTMA operatives.
In a flash, as they always do, the entire area was swarming with Abokis and they were going to attack the LASTMA operatives.
Mr. Bakare very unfortunately came from Ijora into the fray to mediate.
These guys descended on him, and in broad daylight at a location a mere stone throw from the Army DMI, the Navy Hydro graphics, Police Area B and, in front of many soldiers doing guard duties on Liverpool road, that man was LYNCHED to death!!!
They beat and pushed him into the gutter and stoned him to death..
I haven’t gotten over the shock till today, 8 years after. It was that traumatic..
C: REALITY ON GROUND
1. There is an unreasonably huge population of Abokis all over the Southwest.
2. These people are strategically placed in heavily populated areas of our state capitals, parading as Okada riders, scrap collectors, beggars, shoe makers etc..
3. They live in packed colonies on any available open spaces where they don’t pay any rent.
4. They seem to be very organised, very mobile and are usually located within close proximities of security installations such as Army or Police Barracks.
They are excessively aggressive, instinctively violent and all armed.
5. They are so confident they treat Police with utter disdain and are not bothered by the presence of soldiers.
6.They do their washing, toileting, bathing, eating, indeed, everything right on the street thereby constituting an environment nuisance.
8. If you ever have an argument with them and it lasts for too long it is an invitation to a mob action which will most likely cost you your life.
9. They are on constant reconnaissance of our neighbourhoods. They know practically every nook and cranny of their areas of operation.
10. These people have ALL the trappings and resources for TERRORISM”.
D: WHAT TO DO
Although Adetayo made some suggestions in this regard, I would rather leave this to our SOUTHWEST governors and their security councils, our Kabiyesis and ALL OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES in the SOUTHWEST to seriously ponder and rescue, not only this generation of Yorubas, but those ones coming behind us.
It was a well-planned mission executed in the evening hours with clinical precision. At about 4pm on the fateful Sunday of May 25, about 30 heavily armed men suspected to be herdsmen stormed Aondona, a district community in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State on an ungodly mission: to kill every resident and burn down the entire community.
With some of them half-masked and others clad in military fatigue, the marauders announced their arrival with a staccato of gunfire, shattering the serenity of the community. They declared an ‘operation one man, one bullet’ on the local farmers, most of whom were returning to their farms after attending the Sunday service in their churches. Some were already on their farms while many others did not go to the farm because it was a Sunday.
Their mission was well defined: hit each and everyone sighted with a bullet and burn down their houses and foodstuffs. Not even children and pregnant women were spared in their evil mission.
To ensure that the inhabitants of the community did not decode the impending danger, the intruders had stealthily made their entry using farm routes. Knowing that it was a Sunday and most of the local farmers might not go to farm but rather gather together in their homes, they took the residents unaware in their trademark fashion.
Soon, the bubble burst as sounds of their sophisticated weapons rent the air. The invaders swooped on the remote Aondona community and sent more than 27 innocent farmers into early graves. About 32 others were left critically injured while close to half of the buildings in the community were burnt down, rendering a population of about 50,000 people homeless and forcing them to seek refuge in neighbouring communities of Mbalim, Mbakyaan, Mbaba and Taraku all in Gwer East Local Government Area.
While this operation one man, one bullet was going on in Aondona community, a Catholic Reverend Father, Solomon Atongo, was traveling to Naka, the headquarters of Gwer West Local Government, using the Makurdi-Naka Road. Unfortunately, he ran into some of the herdsmen, who promptly pumped bullets into his vehicle. They had presumed the Rev Father dead, but fortunately for him, he survived the attack and had to undergo treatment at a hospital in Makurdi.
Hapless residents of Aondona community are now left to count their losses not only in terms of loss of lives but also in terms of destroyed foodstuffs, economic trees, houses, huts and motorcycles.
Among the women widowed by the tragic incident was Mrs Apesuur Ukechia whose husband was hacked to death while returning from the farm. The widow, who also lost all her three children in the horrendous attack, said it was a sword driven into her heart.
“What did I do to deserve this? she asked repeatedly in a chat with our correspondent. “These Fulani people (herdsmen) have ruined my life. They have robbed me of all that I have in life.
“I am finished. God, I need your divine intervention. Show your mercy,” she lamented as her husband’s corpse and those of her children were evacuated to the mortuary.
To worsen her plight, Mrs Ukechia does not have a roof over her head as their house was burnt during the attack that saw the entire inhabitants of the community displaced. She has only managed to find refuge with a friend in Mbaba community of Gwer East Local Government Area, where she now lives on charity.
Ukechia, who was yet to come to terms with becoming a widow, said she could not believe that all the hope that she and her husband had nursed about succeeding in life and training their kids had been dashed by her husband’s sudden death.
Narrating the circumstances that surrounded the death of her husband and the three children as well as the entire operation in the community, she said although there had been threats of attacks by herdsmen around the local government in the last eight months, as most remote villages in the local government had been displaced and a lot of people had been killed, Aondona is not completely a remote community, being next in size only to Naka, the local government’s headquarters.
Ukechia said: “We never believed that herdsmen would plan an attack on Aondona despite their threats around the local government. We woke up on Sunday (May 25) with high hopes and went to the church as a family.
“We came back and my husband decided that he would go to the farm with the children to uproot some cassava. I was tired and could not follow them to the farm.
“On their way back from the farm with the cassava and approaching home, sounds of gunshots emerged from nowhere and I ran for my dear life.
“It is unfortunate that the herdsmen were strategic with their gunshots. They were targeted directly at them and they all died on the spot. They burnt down the house, killed other people and also burnt down their houses too.
“In fact, the entire community was confused when gunshots sounded from different corners and the inhabitants ran in different directions for safety.
“When I could not find my husband and children, I thought they had also run in different directions. But when the dust cleared and they could not be found, some men who survived the attacks started checking until they found their corpses close to the house.
“I didn’t believe that they were killed in the attacks until I saw their lifeless bodies in pools of blood.
“I never thought they would leave me this early. We had good plans to train our children up to the university, but these wicked herdsmen ruined my life.
“They have rendered me a widow without any hope in life again. Why can’t God take my life too so that I join them? I don’t need this life again.
“How can God punish me this manner? Taking away my life partner and precious children in one clean sweep and leaving me lonely on this planet is quite frustrating.
“I am highly traumatised by this experience. I had no inkling that Sunday church I attended together with my husband and children was my last movement with them on earth.
“We were married for 27 years and had three children. My husband and I are farmers. It’s going to be quite challenging for me going forward. No mother, no father, no husband, no child, no family relations, how can I cope?
“Where do I go from here? My husband was my last hope but he is no more. In spite of the spate of mindless killings going on in Gwer West Local Government, I never for once thought he would be a victim, talk less of my children.
“Now they have both gone to meet their Creator, leaving me with no means of livelihood for now, because we can’t access our farm anymore.
“The killer herdsmen have deprived me of peace of mind. Who takes care of me? Who will rebuild the house? Who will console me? These same Fulani herdsmen had earlier in the year killed my father and mother and younger ones. What a life!”
Our correspondent gathered that the herdsmen chased the entire Gwer West Local Government farmers out of their farmlands, and anyone who attempted to go to the farm would be killed.
Ukechia said: “We want help to return to our land. It appears our plight is not touching the heart of government. Our people are being killed like rats and nobody is showing concern.
“The future of our children is in danger. Our land is being regularly soaked by the blood of our people. We need help. The state and the federal government should come to our aid.”
Another victim of the attack, who gave his name as Japhet Atam, gave horrifying details of the attacks in a brief conversation with our correspondent, recalling how his younger brother and his wife were gruesomely killed.
He said at about 4pm on that fateful day, some militia herdsmen invaded the Aondona community in large numbers and set their houses ablaze. “They picked on everyone who tried to escape. My younger brother and his newly married wife were all killed.
“The militia men shot at defenceless men and women as well as children while others armed with machetes hacked other people to death.
“The innocent and unarmed people ran frantically, looking for escape routes, but they were sprayed with bullets.”
He feared that a bloody war would soon erupt between Fulani herdsmen and the local Tiv farmers in the state, saying that the killings were too much for the locals to bear.
“If government cannot protect us, we will protect ourselves. We won’t allow them take over our lands,” Atam said.
“Unless urgent steps are taken to halt the mindless and barbaric killing of Tiv farmers in Benue State, they would be left with no choice but to respond to the attacks,” he added.
At the moment, there is high pitch tension in the state as the killings have left the people of Gwer West Local Government Area traumatised.
The local government area has 15 wards, including Sengev, Teambe/Mbesev, Merkyen, Nyamshi, Gaambe-Ushin, Mbachohon, Mbaba, Tijime, Avihijime, Gbaange/Togo, Tyoughatee/Ijaha, Sengev/Yengev, Saghev/Ukusu, Ikyagev and Mbabuande.
Our correspondent gathered that since late last year, residents of more than 11 council wards had been displaced and were taking refuge in Naka, the headquarters of the local government area.
Speaking on the latest attacks which sent many residents into their early graves, the Executive Chairman of Gwer West Local Government Area, Victor Torsar Ormin revealed that the attacks occurred in multiple villages, including Yewa Biama, which lies in close proximity to a military base. Despite this, he said, there was no response from security forces during the carnage.
He expressed sadness over the massacre of more than 20 people by herdsmen just as he decried the persistent violence and the inactions of the government.
Ormin said: “More than 20 people, including a two-year-old child, were killed in a series of fresh attacks in Aondona and other communities in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.
“They say the local security does not have the mandate to engage these people; that only the federal government can give that mandate.
“So should my people continue to die while we wait? What is the meaning of this?”
He decried the killing of entire families, citing the burial of a father and his two adult sons in Tewa Bianca just a day before, very close to a military base.
“What is the meaning of this? If they cannot help me, maybe I will leave this position as chairman and let it continue the way it is,” he added.
Visibly distraught, the chairman said the psychological toll of the violence was becoming unbearable. “I don’t care about being chairman anymore. Look at a child of two years old butchered. It is too much for me to condone,” he said.
He disclosed that more than 20 people were killed in Aondona village alone; an area with significant historical and political ties.
“This is the village of the former First Lady of this state, Mrs Eunice Ortom. This is the village of the Tor Gwer, a first class traditional ruler. This is the village of Bishop Anangbe. Whatever will happen will happen. I don’t know what to do anymore,” he added
A member of the House of Representatives representing Gwer West/Gwer East Federal Constituency, Asema Achado vehemently condemned the continuous, unprovoked killings and violent attacks on innocent citizens of Benue State by armed herdsmen.
Achado expressed grave concern over the growing intensity, frequency, and brazen nature of the attacks, describing the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe. He lamented the rising death toll and the deliberate targeting of women, children and the elderly—acts which he described as barbaric, inhuman, and a flagrant violation of both national and international humanitarian laws.
The federal lawmaker recalled the incident in which Rev. Fr. Solomon Atongu was shot along the Makurdi-Naka Road, alongside coordinated attacks on communities such as Tse-Orbiam, Ahume, and Aondona, where several lives were lost. He decried the silence and inaction of both the Federal and State Government authorities in the face of what he termed a “systematic extermination” of Benue’s rural population.
An exasperated citizen of the area and public affairs commentator, Mr Agba Michael, said: “Anyone who has the means to mobilise their people to defend themselves and is still crying, shouting and calling on government to do something at this point is not serious. I say this without apologies to anyone. With all due respect, we have complained enough.
“Someone should help me to tell the bishop that he has complained enough. We have seen his efforts. The world has heard his cry, but no one is coming to help him.
“So, what next? Isn’t there anything else we can do other than condemn attacks and praying? Will the church miss the promise of Paradise if it mobilises to defend itself?
“Someone help me tell the Gwer West LGA Chairman, all concerned citizens of Gwer West and Benue State at large that the time for complaints is long over.
No one will come if it’s just our people dying. We have been sold out. It’s obvious.
“No one agrees they are in the position to do something. Not even the chief security officer of state, the governor.
“Are we going to do something outside the box or we prefer to keep condemning attacks and praying until there is no one left to bury the other?
“In case anyone cares to know why I think something unorthodox is justifiable at this point, here is my billion-dollar question: The people that are killing us, are they obeying the law? What has the law done to them in all these years?
“The summary of it is this: they are killing us because they have weapons and the backing of our slave masters.
“The silence of our leaders is enough reason for us to agree they have been bought. We have been sold out.
“If we have to escape this, we need to accept that we have been enslaved, and ask ourselves whether we are going to fight for our liberation from our slave masters or accept our fate as slaves which we shall be till we are completely whipped out.”
A Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Sebastine Tar Hon, also raised the alarm over the worsening security situation in Benue State and called for speedy action to prevent further loss of lives.
In a detailed letter to the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, he stressed the urgent need for a strategic overhaul of operations to stem the tide of violence and protect innocent lives.
Chief Tar Hon, an indigene of Benue State, recalled that since May 2018, the joint military operation codenamed Operation Whirl Stroke has been tasked with tackling herdsmen attacks and militancy across Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states. He aid initially, the operation showed promise, boasting significant successes including the elimination of bandits and the recovery of weapons, as reported in 2019. He however lamented that recent reports indicate a steep decline in the effectiveness of such operations.
According to the legal luminary, in early 2024, reports emerged of soldiers and civilians being killed by heavily armed invaders, with Amnesty International estimating about 2,600 lives lost, mostly women and children, over the course of attacks on numerous communities, pointing out that the situation has since spiraled, with violence escalating unabated.
Hon’s letter states that recent months have seen a surge in deadly attacks. It says in April 2025, dozens of innocent people were killed in Otobi community, Gwer West and other parts of Benue State, with casualty figures ranging between 56 and 70.
The letter says in May alone, more than 166 persons had been reported killed across various local government areas of the state.
Specific attacks, according to Prof Hon, include the brutal sacking of Aondona Village in Gwer West, where dozens of villagers and a Catholic church were burnt or destroyed, and a priest, Rev. Fr. Solomon Atongo was attacked and left for dead but was rescued after hours.
“Killings in the state by the invaders have become a daily occurrence and no one is challenging the murderers. Benue people are greeted daily by/with reports of their loved ones being killed, maimed, attacked and dislocated from their ancestral lands. What a big existential challenge to the good people of Benue State,” he stated.
Chief Hon also criticised recent military strategies, noting a shift towards targeting local militia gangs while neglecting the larger invasion by heavily armed Fulani herdsmen. He highlighted his belief that operations have become inconsistent, with conflicting directives such as the establishment of a separate “Operation Planning Cadre” by Nasarawa State, potentially hampering coordinated efforts.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also points to the inadequate deployment of police personnel who were sent to troubled areas on motorcycles, a tactical approach he says has proven insufficient against heavily armed invaders.
He further made reference to the urgent ultimatums issued by the Traditional Councils of Tiv and Idoma asking herders to vacate their ancestral lands by the end of May 2025. These warnings, he said, have sadly have been ignored, leading to a full-scale invasion.
Prof. Hon concluded that at least a quarter of Benue State has been forcibly occupied by armed herders, turning peaceful farmers into refugees on their own land, and called on the government to act fast to avert further bloodshed.
