The chairman of Agatu local government area in Benue state, James Ejeh, has raised the alarm over a renewed wave of violent attacks on rural communities, which he linked to the fallout from US military strikes on militant camps in Sokoto state.
Ejeh said the latest violence was being carried out by armed groups who fled Sokoto after the airstrikes and subsequently infiltrated communities in Agatu, unleashing what he described as unprecedented terror on residents.
In a statement issued on Friday, the council chairman said the area was “presently experiencing a renewed wave of violent attacks allegedly perpetrated by armed herders”, adding that the local authorities believed the violence was a direct consequence of recent military operations in the Sokoto axis.
The United States carried out missile strikes on Christmas Day 2025, targeting Islamic State fighters believed to be operating from forest camps in Sokoto. The attacks reportedly destabilised the militants and forced them to abandon their hideouts, prompting fears of spillover violence in neighbouring regions.
Benue communities were among the first to warn of an influx of armed men fleeing the north-west. According to Ejeh, those fighters have now moved into Agatu, attacking villages and targeting civilians.
“These armed elements, fleeing from neighbouring areas, have reportedly infiltrated Agatu communities and unleashed unprecedented terror on innocent and defenceless residents,” he said.
He accused the attackers of killing villagers, injuring many others, destroying homes and farmlands, and carrying out sexual violence, leaving hundreds displaced and living in fear.
“This situation represents a grave humanitarian and security crisis that demands immediate attention,” Ejeh said, lamenting what he described as the continued hunting of Agatu people on their ancestral land “without provocation”.
In response to the violence, the chairman announced the immediate revocation of a 2017 agreement that granted herders access to Adepati Island for grazing, describing the deal as unjust and harmful to the local population.
“That agreement was never carried out in good faith,” he said. “It was done under the guise of promoting peaceful coexistence, but at the expense of the Agatu people.”
Declaring the agreement null and void, Ejeh ordered armed herders to vacate Agatu land with immediate effect, insisting that no part of the local government area belonged to herders under any arrangement.
“Agatu is an agrarian society, and our farmlands must be protected to guarantee food security and the livelihoods of our people,” he said.
Ejeh also called on the federal government and security agencies to urgently deploy additional military and police forces to the area, warning that the current security presence was “grossly inadequate” to stem the tide of attacks.
