Tragedy of Benue’s Forced Relocation: Armed Herdsmen Attacks Drive Farmers from Ancestral Lands While Mining Operations Continue Unabated

 

A drive along the Anyiin-Ayilamo road in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State paints a grim picture of desolation: rows of abandoned houses and compounds overtaken by weeds in what were once thriving farming communities. These villages were not deserted due to poverty or voluntary migration — they were emptied by fear.

Over recent months, repeated attacks by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen have forced residents of communities along this axis to flee their homes and farmlands. Entire settlements from Tsukwa to Akwana and areas approaching Ayilamo town in Tombo Council Ward now stand empty. Farmers who once cultivated yam, cassava, maize, and other crops that sustained families and contributed to the local economy can no longer return, fearing death at the hands of the invaders

One anonymous resident described the scene: “If you are going to Ayilamo from Anyiin, it will shock you that the houses from Tsukwa down to Akwana and even the areas shortly before Ayilamo town are completely deserted because of attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen… Today, those farms lie untended. Our people cannot go back to their ancestral homes to farm because they fear they may be killed by these armed herdsmen.”

In a troubling twist that has fueled anger and suspicion among displaced residents, mining activities continue in many of these deserted areas. Criminal elements and operators — including reports of Chinese nationals in some sites — have moved in, extracting minerals such as lithium, fluorite, iron ore, gemstones, limestone, gold, aluminium, and titanium-iron oxide. Artisanal and small-scale mining operations are reportedly active in places like Mbagber, Tombo, Ukemberagya/Tswarev, and Ayilamo in Logo LGA, as well as in Kwande LGA’s Turan axis (including Mbakyol, Menakwgh, Inungugh in Yaav, and Waya communities).

Residents note a disturbing pattern: while indigenous farmers are targeted and chased away — or shot on sight if they attempt to return — there have been no reported attacks on the miners or their operations. This has led to allegations of possible connivance between the armed herdsmen and mining interests.

Media practitioner Joseph Apegh from Logo LGA stated: “In Tombo Ward with headquarters in Ayilamo, armed herdsmen have chased our people out of their land while mining activities are going on there… Communities are attacked and sacked while miners are protected and not attacked by the herders. We are saddened that what should have been God’s gift to the people has become a weapon against them. People have been chased from their homes and families devastated because of the quest of a few to get rich from the mineral deposits in their land.”

Similar accounts emerge from neighboring Kwande LGA, particularly the Turan axis, where attacks have displaced residents from multiple wards (Mbadura, Kumakwagh, Moon, Yaav, Mbakyul), forcing many to relocate to safer areas like Yaav Ward. Recent violence includes the killing of 13 people in Jato Aka and 10 in Boagungu Mbaav (including the brother of former LGA adviser Lawrence Akerigba). Victims have received treatment at the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi.23c187

Lawrence Akerigba highlighted the contrast: “We have a mining site at Mbakyol Council Ward in Menakwgh community… Right there, we have Chinese people doing the mining… But the Chinese people are there, staying comfortably. Once the herders sight any indigene, they shoot him or her. We strongly suspect connivance between the Chinese and the armed herdsmen… Because if there is no connivance, why are the owners of the land not wanted in their communities while strangers who are not even Nigerians are there unchallenged?”

The situation has turned what should be economic opportunities from mineral resources into sources of devastation for farming communities long known as part of Nigeria’s “Food Basket.” Displaced families have lost their primary means of livelihood, raising fears of hunger and long-term instability in the region.

Residents are calling on the Federal Government to urgently investigate any potential links between the armed herdsmen attacks and ongoing mining activities, and to restore security so that people can safely return to their ancestral lands.

This latest wave adds to Benue’s protracted challenges with farmer-herder violence, which has repeatedly led to deaths, displacement, and disruption of agricultural activities across various LGAs, including Apa, Agatu, and others in recent months. Security operations, such as those by troops under Operation Whirl Stroke, have targeted criminal networks, but challenges persist.

The human cost remains high, with communities pleading for decisive action to end the cycle of attacks, displacement, and resource exploitation that threatens lives and livelihoods in the state.