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Nigerian Army troops repelled an armed militia assault on communities in southern Taraba State over the weekend, deploying special forces backed by soldiers from the 93 Battalion at Ada Barracks in Takum to strike suspected militia positions and restore order to an area that has been hemorrhaging residents for weeks.
Residents of Chanchanji Ward in Takum Local Government Area confirmed that a major attack was launched on Saturday, but that the army reacted quickly and was able to repel it. The operation, which security sources described as a targeted offensive on militia hideouts, followed a sharp deterioration in conditions across Takum, Donga, and Ussa local government areas that has killed multiple people, emptied dozens of villages, and overwhelmed the area’s limited medical infrastructure.
When a correspondent visited Chanchanji on Sunday morning, residents were seen by the roadside with their belongings, looking desperately for transportation to safer areas. Schools in the community have been repurposed as emergency shelters. Administrators at Regina Packs School and Holy Copy Schools in Takum said their facilities were overwhelmed by displaced families from destroyed neighboring communities, and that many parents had withdrawn children from classes entirely due to the collapse of security and livelihoods.
Medical services are also under severe strain. At Sancta Maria Clinic and Maternity in Takum, Reverend Sister Filipa Fangpa said the facility was struggling to manage a steady stream of injured people arriving from affected communities.
The weekend violence was not unforeseen. Judd Saul, Executive Director of the U.S.-based advocacy group Equipping the Persecuted, issued a public warning last week citing intelligence that armed groups had been sighted gathering and preparing for large-scale assaults in parts of Taraba and Southern Kaduna, with an attack window he identified as around March 23 or shortly after the Ramadan period. The Middle Belt Forum, a regional civil society organization, separately warned Monday that credible intelligence pointed to primary target areas including the Chanchanji-Yelwa axis and the Wukari-Takum Road corridor.
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The latest violence follows a pattern of escalating attacks that Tiv community groups say have continued despite assurances from Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas during a March 3 visit to internally displaced persons camps in Abako and Chanchanji, where he pledged improved security and relief support alongside his Benue State counterpart, Governor Hyacinth Alia. Community organizations say the situation has worsened in the weeks since. In one recent incident, five people, among them four police officers, were killed while responding to a distress call in Tor Damisa community in Donga Local Government Area.
According to community spokesman Muyee Loreren Mulega, the militia campaign escalated sharply at the start of 2026, with attacks beginning on January 9 and 10 that lasted 24 hours, leaving 27 people dead and more than 20 villages emptied. He said at least 50 additional people from surrounding communities have been killed since then.
Between January 2 and February 3 alone, suspected militia carried out no fewer than ten coordinated attacks on Tiv settlements in Chanchanji district, injuring more than 31 people, including women, children, and elderly residents, according to the Northern Christians Religious Leaders Assembly.
Community leaders speaking in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s repelled attack offered cautious approval of the military response while pressing authorities for a sustained commitment. Justine Tyopuusu, a community leader in Chanchanji, said residents were relieved but watchful. “As a stakeholder, I can confirm that our people are pleased with the response of security agencies to the threats against Tiv communities in southern Taraba,” he said. “We also commend Governor Agbu Kefas for his commitment to restoring peace and enabling farmers to return to their lands as the rainy season approaches. We hope these efforts will be sustained.”
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James Bakah, President General of the Tiv Cultural and Social Association in Taraba State, credited both state and federal authorities for acting on community concerns. “We appreciate the efforts of Governor Agbu Kefas and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for deploying troops. Their actions have strengthened security and neutralized threats posed by militias,” he said, urging that operations not be wound down prematurely.
Zaki Terfa Peter Suleagbough, the Acting Clan Head of Mbatyula in Chanchanji Ward, described the deployed soldiers as disciplined and said their presence had been decisive. “If not for their presence, the situation could have been far worse,” he said, calling on the government to maintain the deployment until the threat was entirely eliminated.
The Nigerian Army’s public affairs directorate had not issued an official statement on the operations as of Monday. No casualty figures for either side have been independently verified.
Security forces are continuing operations in the area. Community leaders and civil society organizations said they would be monitoring whether troop deployments remain in place through the post-Ramadan period, which Saul and others have identified as the window of highest risk for further coordinated attacks across southern Taraba and parts of Southern Kaduna State.
