Displaced Tiv Farmer Killed by Suspected Fulani Militants in Gwer-West
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Displaced Tiv Farmer Killed by Suspected Fulani Militants in Gwer-West
In yet another tragic incident amid ongoing attacks on Tiv communities, suspected armed Fulani herdsmen have reportedly killed a displaced farmer, Akase James, in Tse-Defam, Mba’akov Vengav, Udam community of Gwer-West Local Government Area, Benue State.
James, originally from the now-abandoned Tse-Defam village, had been sheltering with his family in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Naka, the Gwer-West LGA headquarters. Driven by hunger, he returned to his ancestral home to retrieve food from his farm. Upon arrival, he was ambushed and shot dead by gunmen believed to be Fulani militants who have occupied the area.
This killing is part of a wider pattern of violent attacks that have devastated Tiv communities in Benue State and beyond since 2018. Over the past seven years, thousands of Tiv civilians—including women and children—have lost their lives, while entire villages have been destroyed and farmlands seized in what many observers describe as a coordinated campaign of ethnic cleansing or genocide.
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Local sources report that dozens of villages across Gwer-West, Kwande, Guma, Logo, Makurdi, and Agatu LGAs remain under threat or occupation by armed assailants.
Human rights advocates and civil society organizations are calling on the federal government and international bodies to urgently intervene, investigate these atrocities, ensure the safety of affected populations, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
