Experts Advise Tinubu to Deploy Drones and Special Forces Against Terrorist Cells in Benue

Experts Advise Tinubu to Deploy Drones and Special Forces Against Terrorist Cells in Benue”

On Friday  9th may  2025  a group of professionals from the Tiv community in Abuja urged President Bola Tinubu to deploy Special Forces and surveillance technologies, such as drones, to eliminate terrorist cells posing as Fulani herdsmen and wreaking havoc in Benue State.

President of the group known as OnTiv Professionals Association, Abraham Aku, has also called on the President to direct the country’s National Security Adviser (NSA), the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector General of Police, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to take immediate action and ensure the prosecution of the attackers of innocent Benue citizens under Nigerian laws.

“Our lands have been turned into graveyards. Our people’s harvests are being destroyed, our daughters and women violated, our sons tortured, the old who cannot escape beheaded.

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“The entire Kwande, Ukum, Logo, Katsina Ala, Buruku, Agatu, Otukpo, Guma, Gwer West, and Gwer East Local Government Areas have come under heavy attacks by these heartless killers. The remaining surviving residents have fled their ancestral lands and are taking refuge in other parts of the state that have not come under severe attacks by the Fulani herdsmen,” he said.

This came as the professionals advised Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State to tread cautiously with the idea of donating land for ranching to any group linked to the current attacks and killings in the state.

Specifically, suspected Fulani herdsmen have been accused of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Benue people in recent attacks, with several farmers displaced and their properties destroyed, leaving many in sorrow and tears.

Serious concerns have also continued to mount over the influx of a large number of cattle into the hinterlands of the Sankera axis, with many citizens describing it as a threat to security and food stability in the region.

Aku told newsmen that the intention of the killer herdsmen in Benue is the total displacement of the people from community lands with the view to grabbing them.

He urged the Federal Government to designate killer herdsmen as a ‘terrorist group,’ saying that it is urgent for Governor Alia to break the silence and enforce the existing Anti-Open Grazing law and stop the reckless, wanton killing by the marauding herdsmen, alleged to be foreigners.

“The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, declare killer herdsmen a terrorist group and deploy adequate state resources to rein them in,” he added.

In recent attacks, armed herdsmen carrying AK-47 rifles, on Friday, April 18, 2025, invaded the Gbagir community of Ukum Local Government Area and targeted worshippers, resulting in the deaths of over 70 people.

The suspected Fulani herdsmen, between April 15-16, also attacked the Otobi community in the Akpa district of Otukpo Local Government Area, killing at least 13 people and burning over 50 houses.

Painting a grim picture of the mode of attacks on the unarmed citizens, Engr. Akume explained: “The pattern is similar in a coordinated manner in all the affected communities. They come in the middle of the night while residents are asleep, open fire on homes, and attack innocent citizens.

“To worsen the situation, these groups have now turned kidnapping for ransom into a nationwide industry of terror. The highways of Benue are hijacked, homes raided, schools emptied, markets targeted, farms and crops are being destroyed daily. Nowhere is safe.

“From the farms of Guma Local Government to Agatu Local Government, from the waterways of Guma-Buruku to the suburbs of Otukpo, the pattern is the same. Same method, same targets, same identity, same brutality.

“No region or state in this country has cried longer, harder, and more helplessly than the middle belt, and Benue in particular. Our lands have been turned into graveyards. Our people’s harvests are being destroyed, our daughters and women violated, our sons tortured, and the old who cannot escape beheaded.

“Our people are agonising. They are crying. They are the most wailing people in this country today. These defenceless communities are yet to get commensurate national response. They are betrayed by the government whose duty it is to protect them.

“Sometimes, the youth will come together to rescue and pick up dead bodies; that is when the military comes in to arrest them. They will completely forget about those who caused the mayhem. This approach must stop.

“In the most recent deadly attacks on communities in Kwande, Ukum, Logo, and Katsina-Ala local governments, it was reported that over 300 lives of innocent citizens were lost, with property worth billions of naira destroyed. The gory situation is replicated across the state.

“OnTiv Professionals are confident that these are not just herders but a Fulani militia group with a predetermined agenda against Benue State and the entire Benue Valley. Survivors have confirmed that there are tactically coordinated militias wielding military-grade weapons—AK-47s, AK-49s, RPGs, GPMGs, and well-sophisticated weapons and tools.”

Also speaking, Engineer Benjamin Nyior, a Trustee of the group, was vehement in opposing the idea of donating land to Fulani herders for the purpose of ranching in Benue State.

“We want to say that the issue of donating land is not going to be possible. For the past years, there have been several attempts by the Federal Government to acquire land for ranching or grazing of Fulani cattle. What we know is that the land is not available, and when you are doing your business, you should sponsor it,” he stressed.

“There is no way that you expect the state government to donate land. From what we are even experiencing, the target is not just to ranch but to grab the land because they feel that it is fertile land good for their cattle.

“In the past, they attempted to bring up the RUGA policy, but we resisted and survived it. Now, they are coming up with the issue of donating land. Why do you concentrate on Benue land?”

The group therefore advised that whatever approach is being contemplated and adopted for ranching in the country, the government should allow herders to operate in their home states and source their feed in other regions—a system that could further create additional job opportunities.