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A serving senior Nigerian military officer has appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to intervene in what he described as a sustained and coordinated campaign of violence against Tiv communities across three local government areas in southern Taraba State and Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, after armed assailants killed two of his stepbrothers in an ambush on their ancestral home.
The officer, who identified himself as originating from Mbajir in the Shitile area of southern Taraba, said the attacks had been ongoing for approximately two weeks, driving residents from their villages, destroying homes, burning farmland, and consuming harvested crops. He said the two men were killed after returning to assess what remained of the family compound following an earlier displacement.
“Two of my stepbrothers decided to return to see their homeland and were unfortunately ambushed and killed by the marauders,” he said, adding that the wider community had been unable to mount any defense against heavily armed attackers.
The appeal reflects deepening alarm over a pattern of violence that has drawn growing condemnation from community organizations, religious bodies, and security analysts across the affected region. According to the Northern Christians Religious Leaders Assembly, at least 102 people were killed in 33 days during coordinated assaults on Tiv settlements in Chanchanji district of Takum Local Government Area alone, with survivors forced to flee as their homes, farmlands, and churches were occupied or destroyed.
The scale of displacement is considerable. In one of the earlier incidents, at least 15 people were confirmed killed and hundreds more displaced following an attack on Tiv communities in Chanchanji Ward, Takum LGA, on February 1, with victims drawn from six identified settlements. Survivors fled into surrounding bushes and neighboring communities, abandoning everything behind them. A separate attack on communities in Takum’s Chanchanji Council Ward, reported in early February, left at least 70 people feared dead, with at least 35 churches vandalized during the assault. Among the dead was a Christian cleric.
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State-level political engagement has so far produced limited results. Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas and Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia convened a high-level security meeting in Wukari on March 2, bringing together traditional rulers, government officials, and community leaders to address the deteriorating border security situation. The two governors also visited internally displaced persons camps in Abako and Chanchanji to assess conditions on the ground. Within days of that meeting, suspected armed herders ambushed Tiv farmers in Donga LGA, killing two people and wounding others as they returned from their fields.
Tiv socio-cultural organization Mzough U Tiv issued a statement last week expressing disappointment that violence had continued and even intensified in the weeks after Governor Kefas reportedly assured residents that the killings would stop. The group said armed assailants had resumed attacks in Akate Ward of Donga LGA and in Chanchanji and Amadu areas of Takum LGA.
There have been some signs of military response. Troops from the 93 Battalion stationed at Ada Barracks were deployed to parts of southern Taraba following reports of planned militia attacks, carrying out targeted operations against suspected militia hideouts and reportedly neutralizing armed elements during raids. Community stakeholders, including the President General of the Tiv Cultural and Social Association in Taraba, James Bakah, commended the intervention, describing it as timely and crediting it with frustrating planned attacks. However, community stakeholders have called for a sustained military presence, saying withdrawal would allow militia activity to resume.
Read Also: Seven Killed In Separate Attacks Across Benue State
The officer’s statement, which was addressed to the federal government and the legislature, framed the crisis in existential terms.
“Please, let us pray for peace in Tiv land; otherwise, we are witnessing a gradual extermination,” he said. He warned that the absence of prompt federal intervention would worsen an already critical humanitarian situation, with entire communities still living in displacement as food stores and harvests lie in ruin.
Community elders who spoke to reporters described the violence as having escalated sharply over the past two years, with no meaningful arrests or prosecutions recorded. One cleric told reporters: “The issue has been on for long. But government is not doing anything. People are being killed daily without any help. We have written several pleas to the government but no response.”
The Nigerian Army and the Office of the National Security Adviser had not responded to requests for comment on the renewed attacks as of Wednesday evening. The Taraba State government had also not issued a formal statement on the latest incidents. Whether the federal government will authorize additional troop deployments or convene an emergency security session addressing southern Taraba and Katsina-Ala remains to be confirmed.
