The Tor Tiv of Benue State, His Royal Majesty James Ayatse, has declared the recent wave of violence in the region a “calculated, genocidal invasion”, dismissing claims that the attacks stem from farmer-herder disputes.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Makurdi on Wednesday, Ayatse strongly refuted the narrative that the killings were a result of communal tensions. “It is not herder-farmers clashes, it is not communal clashes, it is not reprisal attacks or skirmishes,” the monarch said.
Benue State has been gripped by renewed terror, with over 100 residents reportedly slaughtered in coordinated assaults by suspected herders on Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma LGA on 14 June. The death toll is now feared to have climbed to 200, sparking outrage across the nation.
President Tinubu, who visited victims recovering in hospital and met local leaders, assured that security forces have been directed to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.
However, the Tor Tiv stressed that misdiagnosing the violence undermines any meaningful solution. “What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits, which has been going on for decades and is worsening every year,” he warned.
Ayatse criticised the government and media for painting the crisis as mere inter-communal friction. “Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment,” he said. “This is not about learning to live with your neighbours – this is a war.”
The monarch’s statement highlights growing frustration in Benue over continued bloodshed and lack of decisive federal action to halt the attacks.
