Benue crisis not farmer-herder clashes but genocide – Tor Tiv tells Tinubu

The paramount traditional ruler of the Tiv Nation, His Royal Majesty, Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, has forcefully rejected the widespread characterization of the violence in Benue State as mere clashes between farmers and herders. Instead, he described the crisis as a deliberate campaign of genocide and land grabbing.

Speaking on Wednesday during a high-level meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and key stakeholders in Benue State, the monarch condemned what he termed a “dangerous and misleading narrative” that downplays the true nature of the conflict.

“The ongoing killings in Benue are not random communal disputes,” the Tor Tiv stated. “They are part of a calculated and coordinated assault on our people and our ancestral lands. To reduce this to farmer-herder clashes is to feed a lie that fuels impunity.”

“We do have grave concerns about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue State,” Ayatse said. “Your Excellency, it’s not herders-farmers clashes, it’s not communal clashes, it’s not reprisal attacks or skirmishes.”

According to the traditional ruler, the killings are part of a long-running, systematic invasion by “herder terrorists and bandits,” aimed at displacing indigenous communities and seizing their ancestral lands.

“What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign which has been going on for decades and is worsening every year,” he said.

He warned that continued misdiagnosis of the crisis would hinder the search for lasting solutions. “Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment.

“So, we are dealing with something far more sinister… It’s not about learning to live with your neighbors; it is dealing with war,” Ayatse asserted.

President Tinubu’s visit comes amid renewed violence in Benue, where over 160 people have been killed in recent weeks.