The paramount traditional ruler of the Tiv Nation, Tor Tiv V, His Royal Majesty James Ayatse, has told President Bola Tinubu that the killings in Benue State are not the result of farmer-herder clashes, but a deliberate and coordinated campaign of violence aimed at forcefully taking over ancestral lands.
Speaking during a meeting with the President and key stakeholders in Benue State on Wednesday, the monarch said the crisis has long been misunderstood and mischaracterized by many, leading to ineffective responses and misplaced calls for peaceful coexistence.
“We have grave concerns over the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue,” Ayatse said.
“Your Excellency, what we are facing is not herder-farmer clashes, not communal skirmishes or reprisal attacks. It is a calculated, well-orchestrated genocidal invasion and land-grabbing agenda being carried out by herder-terrorists and bandits.”
The monarch emphasized that misdiagnosing the root of the crisis has led to inadequate interventions, allowing the violence to persist for decades.
“Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment,” he said. “We are dealing with something far more sinister than what has been portrayed. This is not just about living peacefully with neighbours—it is about confronting a war.”
The Tor Tiv called for more decisive and targeted actions from the federal government to address the insecurity in the state, stressing that the situation demands more than routine peace talks or surface-level reconciliation efforts.
His comments come amid renewed attacks in Benue communities, with hundreds of lives lost in recent weeks, particularly in Guma, Logo, and parts of Makurdi local government areas, mostly involving displaced persons seeking refuge from earlier violence.
