Features

…. The Complicity of Government Officials, Security Agencies, & Sponsors of the Attacks

By Andrew Pam

The shrill voice of a child was heard screaming for help. The voice suddenly went silent. His throat was slit open, and he fell beside his mother, who already lay lifeless. A daredevil figure was in their room as an uninvited guest. The retreating figure poured gasoline (fuel) on their hut and lit it, burning the child and his mother.

It was a cold Friday night, the 13th of June, 2025. The people of Yelewata, a community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, located at the border with Nasarawa State, had gone to bed to rest before going to their farms the next morning. They had no idea or premonition that danger was lurking.

Just before midnight, death visited! Fulani terrorists had struck, leaving more than 200 lifeless and charged bodies.

Tsegba Ayua, one of many residents reeling from the aftermath of the armed invaders’ attack, recounted his experience: “Around 11 pm on Friday, I got a call that our host community was under attack. I rushed back early Saturday morning, only to find the worst nightmare of my life. My wife and four children had been burned to ashes inside the market stalls where they were sleeping. Over 100 corpses were recovered in the area.”

Mama Victoria Tyobee, a survivor, could not fathom how she escaped from the killers. “We were sleeping when, about midnight, I heard a gunshot, and looking through the window, I saw one of the attackers with a weapon standing right by my house. As I was wondering what to do next, there were sporadic gunshots, and the man fled into the nearby bushes. It was only after a while that I mustered the courage to step out of the house. I later discovered that my relatives were not so fortunate. We lost three of them. It’s indeed a very sad experience,” she stated.

Another victim, 37-year-old Fidelis Adidi, was left devastated: “My body is weak, and my heart keeps racing. I lost five of my family members.”

In another room in Yelewata market, bodies lay burned beyond recognition next to blackened piles of food and farm equipment.

That has been the hallmark of Fulani terrorist attacks in Benue and other parts of Nigeria. Their agenda is one and direct – attack with precision, kill, displace, and occupy! Fulani terrorists normally attack their target communities at the most vulnerable times, such as midnight or prayer days, when victims are in churches, incessantly killing people with sophisticated weapons, looting properties, and burning houses.

The Skewed Narrative

The Fulani have a well-organized propaganda machinery that tries to portray the attacks and killings as communal clashes. What the world must understand is that there is no such thing as clashes between Fulani and farmers in Benue State or elsewhere in Nigeria. The Fulani terrorists simply invade communities, attack, kill, displace thousands, and occupy their ancestral lands. It is a form of violence characterized by immense arms bearing and brutal sophistication. In almost every state in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen graze where they please, destroy crops, block traffic, rape women, maim unarmed people, and unleash deadly attacks on villages, especially where there is slightest resistance to their depredations. It is a systematic pattern intended to wipe out native ethnic groups, either by killing or displacing them, to take control of their lands.

Anyone who tries to defend the narrative of “clashes” should answer these questions: If what we are witnessing are clashes, does land move? The answer is no. The nomads are the ones who move from place to place, encroaching on farmlands. If the attacks are clashes, why do the attackers kill, displace, and occupy? Why not move on?

A Well-Coordinated Pogrom

According to Genocide Watch, the attacks by Fulani terrorists on sedentary Christian communities in Benue and other states are a continuation of Jihad initiated in 1900 by Usman Dan Fodio. Fulani have claimed that the Benue trough belongs to them. They say that when their cows feed from the grass in the Benue trough, the cattle fatten better and are healthier because the grass in the area contains antibiotics.

The leadership of Fulani across the country and beyond controls the militia centrally. Funds are contributed by wealthy Fulanis to maintain these militia groups, which constantly wage attacks against indigenous communities. The Fulani sponsor their agents into the Nigerian military, police, and other security agencies so they can serve as informants and representatives.

Sustained attacks by Fulani terrorists began in Benue State for instance as early as 2011 and spread across 19 LGAs out of 23 by 2018, with over 6,000 lives lost between 2013 and 2018. Over 243,576 homes, 40 churches, 164 schools, 34 healthcare centres, 37 markets, and other property worth billions of naira were destroyed by the attacks. These figures tripled in 2025.

Fulani attacks on farming communities in Nigeria are well-organized, coordinated, and heavily funded by powerful and wealthy individuals within the ethnic group, both locally and in the diaspora. The group that coordinates the attacks is known as Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore. They have a well-equipped militia that operates across parts of the country, attacking people. Members of the group are also professional cattle rustlers.

The President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo, owns a cow market near the NYSC camp in Keffi. Bodejo is not a Nigerian citizen; he migrated into the country primarily to perpetuate jihad against Nigerians and take over lands. He resides in Keffi after being chased away from Bauchi, where he originally lived. He was arrested last year for forming a militia group in Nasarawa State. Security forces could search his residence in Tudun Wada, Nasarawa, and likely make mind-blowing discoveries.

Nasarawa Governor’s Appointee

The governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule, has an appointee known as Akajo. He is an agent of Fulani terrorists. Akajo is a confidant of Bello Bodejo, planted in government to feed the terror group with intelligence. He is responsible for providing attackers with information about security measures and when to strike. He should be thoroughly investigated and possibly arrested.

Most of the attacks carried out in Benue State by Fulani terrorists are planned in Tunga, Doma, Awe, and other areas along the Benue-Nasarawa border. The attackers invade the communities, kill and return to their bases.

A North-East Governor’s Connection

A sitting governor who is in his second term in the North-Eastern part of the country is one of the biggest sponsors of Fulani terrorists in Nigeria. He is responsible for importing Fulani fighters and helping them obtain citizenship certificates (state of origin papers) in northern states. The said governor spends hundreds of millions of naira supporting Fulani terrorists’ occupation agenda across the country.

Federal Government and Police Involvement

The Federal Government of Nigeria is fully aware that the attacks on farming communities in Benue, Plateau, and other states are carried out by Fulani militias. Highly placed individuals in government are deeply involved in organizing and sponsoring these attacks. Most of those involved are of Fulani descent and their allies.

As earlier stated, Nigeria’s military, police, and other security forces have been infiltrated by agents of Fulani militias. This makes it difficult to eliminate the attacks entirely. The terrorists often know when security agencies plan operations and avoid routes used by the security forces.

Even when security personnel are killed including tens of police officers, soldiers, DSS, Civil Defense etc, the government often does little to nothing. No arrests are made, and no one is held accountable.

Fulani influence also extends to opposing the establishment of vigilante groups by states and local governments. They use every available government means to oppose the creation of local security groups that could stand in their way of land conquest.

The Way Forward

All Fulani herdsmen using sophisticated weapons should be disarmed. The current situation where herdsmen carry modern weapons like AK-47s and AK-49s is unacceptable.

State governments should enact laws regulating the activities of Fulani herdsmen. The Anti-Open Grazing Law of Benue State for example can be replicated by other states to end the perennial attacks on farming communities in parts of the country.

The Federal Government should immediately investigate all individuals mentioned in this report and identify those sponsoring Fulani attacks nationwide.

Finally, security agencies should pay closer attention to the operations of pastoralists across the country.

Pam, a public affairs analyst writes from Jos, Plateau State.