The Tor Tiv V, His Royal Majesty James Ayatse, has strongly rejected the widely circulated belief that the persistent violence in Benue State is due to clashes between farmers and herders.
He described such claims as misinformation that has distorted the reality of the security situation.
Speaking during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu and key stakeholders in Benue on Wednesday, the monarch insisted that the attacks are not communal or retaliatory, but rather deliberate acts of violence perpetrated by armed groups with the intent to displace indigenous communities.
“We do have grave concerns about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue State,” he told the president.
“Your Excellency, it’s not headers-farmers clashes, it’s not communal clashes, it’s not reprisal attacks or skirmishes.”
According to Tor Tiv, this mischaracterization has resulted in inappropriate policy suggestions and calls for restraint.
“It is this misinformation that has led to suggestions such as ‘remain tolerant, negotiate for peace, learn to live with your neighbours’,” he said.
He emphasized that the ongoing crisis in the state is a “calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits”, stressing that these attacks have lasted for decades and have only intensified over time.
“What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by header terrorists and bandits, which has been going on for decades and is worsening every year,” Ayatse reiterated.
He concluded with a warning about the dangers of misunderstanding the situation: “Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment. So, we are dealing with something far more sinister than we think about. It’s not learning to live with your neighbors; it is dealing with the war.”
