At least four Tiv farmers have been reportedly killed and scores injured in a series of coordinated attacks allegedly carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Nasarawa State. The assaults occurred across three Tiv-dominated local government areas, resulting in widespread destruction and displacement.
The Youth arm of the Mdzou U Tiv, the sociocultural association of the Tiv people in Nasarawa State, made the disclosure at a press conference on Monday in Lafia, the state capital.
Chairman of the group, Philip Non’gu, described the killings as a direct assault on unity, peaceful coexistence, and the progress the Tiv community has achieved in the state. He lamented that despite Governor Abdullahi Sule’s peace efforts, the attacks have continued unabated.
“The act of violence being perpetrated by armed herders on aboriginal Tiv farmers is not only reprehensible but a direct threat to our way of life,” Non’gu said.
According to him, the latest attacks occurred in Dooga Ayande of Doka ward, Antsa of Kwara chiefdom, Tse Yange of Tudun Adabu, and Tse Akira of Galadima. The victims were identified as Terra Twanbee, Sham Kyodo, Zaki Kwaghtager Ordu, and Teryem Aondo. Several others sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the Federal University Teaching Hospital in Lafia and other medical facilities.
Non’gu further disclosed that the attackers destroyed farmlands and produce, uprooting seedlings and burning them, while grazing on maize and sesame farms. He added that six motorcycles were also burned and others stolen during the raid.
The group estimated that over 10,000 people have been displaced from the affected communities and are currently taking refuge in Kpata, Agyaragu, Kadarko, and Idadu. Crops such as rice, cassava, watermelon, and groundnuts worth millions of naira were also reportedly destroyed.
Philip called on the Federal Government to ensure the protection of Tiv communities in Nasarawa State and urged the State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and relevant NGOs to intervene and provide urgent relief for the displaced victims.
