By Sar Terver
For years, the once-quiet farmlands along the Benue–Nasarawa border have been pulled apart by violence and fear.
In villages like Kadarko, Keana and Yelewata, the fields where yam and rice once grew have become ghost lands, and homes have turned into hollow shells. Farming families speak of nights when gunshots echo and of mornings when they wake to blood and ash.
The United Farmers Association of Kadarko (UFAK) says enough is enough. On 30 September 2025, UFAK President Chief Denen Dennis Gbongbon, alongside Ayuba T. Bako and Zaki Utim Useleh, submitted a petition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on behalf of more than 10,000 displaced farmers.
Their prime accusation: that a number of influential political and traditional figures in Nasarawa State are sponsoring armed attacks aimed at farming communities.
In the petition they allege that the June 2025 killings in Yelewata claimed over 253 farmers and internally displaced persons (IDPs), including children.
They named alleged sponsors — Sen. Muhammad Onawo Doma; Hon. Hassan Naralaba (Keana); Dr. Margaret Elayo (Keana); Prof. Alahnanna Otaki (Keana); Alh. Abu Giza; Dogora Adi (Giza); Alh. Umaru Usman Dodo (Chief of Kadarko); Alh. Abdullahi Amegwa Agbo (Osana of Keana); Alh. Abdullahi Muhammad Hassan (Chief of Adudu); Alh. Dr. Abubakar Apeshi (Chief of Agwatashi); C.P. Shehu Umar Nadada; and Alh. Dr. Idris Muhammad (Keana). They also listed alleged attackers, including Babaje Buzaye (Kadarko), Hassan Jubrim (Giza), Umaru Dahiru Manu, Umaru Fulani (Giza) and more than 20 others.
The farmers recount statistics that reflect devastation: between 2018 and 2025 they say 314 communities were invaded, 158,251 houses destroyed, 3,959 people killed and over 652,000 displaced. They allege that funds intended for rebuilding these communities — to repair farmlands, restore homes and resettle families — have been diverted by some public figures to instead finance armed groups.
Why does this matter beyond the local scale? Because the broader context of farmer–herder and militia-style violence in the North-Central region underpins UFAK’s case.
In recent years, both states of Benue and Nasarawa have witnessed escalating conflict between farming communities and armed herder groups, resulting in significant deaths, displacement and food-security damage. For example, a report by Deutsche Welle on April 20, 2025 cited that in 2025 alone at least 56 people were killed in twin attacks in Benue State and that since 2019 these clashes had killed more than 500 people and forced 2.2 million from their homes.
In Nasarawa, one instance in May 2023 recorded 38 farmers and one herder killed in a clash in Karu Local Government Area when herders invaded farmland and attacked villagers.
State authorities have recognised the scale of the problem: in 2021, Governor Abdullahi Sule launched the National Livestock Transformation Programme (NLTP) in Nasarawa explicitly to tackle herder–farmer clashes by promoting ranching and reducing migratory open-grazing.
Civil-military cooperation has also been credited with helping to reduce some violence: the Operations Whirl Stroke (OPWS) Force Commander said that civil-military strategies had “greatly helped in reducing killings” at the Benue–Nasarawa–Taraba border. Meanwhile, pastoralist bodies such as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have appealed for dialogue and peace in both states.
Among the people named in UFAK’s petition, reactions ranged from outright denial to cautious non-comment. Hon. Adamu Aboki, Chairman of Keana Local Government Area, said he was unaware of the petition and insisted the claim was untrue, saying he had instead “ordered the arrests of Fulani militias attacking Tiv farmers.”
The Chief of Kadarko, HRH Usman Umaru Dodo, challenged the existence of UFAK in his domain, claiming the association does not even exist anymore. “Who are those United Farmers Association because we don’t have United Farmers Association in Kadarko. They have been existing for the past how many years? They are not even existing now. Even the secretary was with last week. There is nothing like that. They started well and they later on collapsed”, Dodo claimed.
Alh. Abu Giza declined comment without clearance from his traditional ruler.
UFAK President Gbongbon told Newspad the association deliberately omitted copying the accused persons because they are “suspects” who should instead be invited for questioning and investigation.
He reiterated: “We are not out to defame anyone. All we ask is that the government uncover the truth and restore peace.”
The farmers’ plight is not abstract. Within temporary shelters and camps in communities such as Kadarko and Keana, families who once planted yams and rice now scavenge for food.
Mothers recount the loss of sons and husbands; children wander in camp spaces once meant for classrooms. As one elderly farmer in Agwatashi confided quietly, “We are tired of counting our dead. We just want to plant again.”
As the dry season advances and the next planting cycle looms, these displaced families wait with heavy hearts. Their plea to President Tinubu, they say, is not about party or politics, it is about survival, honesty and restoring their dignity. “We are not enemies of the state. We are citizens seeking protection under the same Constitution that binds the nation together”, the petitioners explained
The Presidency has yet to issue an official response.
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