Roman Catholic City Reduced to Ghost Town by Land-grabbing Bandit-terrorists
By Mike Odeh James, and Olikita Ekani
(Ayati) In a heart-wrenching exclusive interview with TruthNigeria correspondents, Theophilus Ahangba Ayati, Deputy Director at the Bureau for County and Chieftaincy Affairs in Benue State, detailed the devastating impacts of persistent attacks, kidnappings and killings on the Ayati community.
TruthNigeria had earlier reported on the Ayati massacre where more than 60 persons were killed in the community by Fulani terrorists. The Fulani tribe claims as many as 9 million Nigerian citizens, many of whom are known for cattle herding and Salafist religious beliefs.
Ayati is 196km (122 miles) North East of Makurdi, the Benue State Capital, and close to the border with Taraba State.
A farming community of approximately 35,000 inhabitants, nearly all members of the Tiv tribe, Ayati today has been transformed into a ghost town, with 99 percent of its population displaced to neighboring villages, TruthNigeria has learned.
The once-thriving commercial town, famous for its yam production, now lies in ruins, its people living in constant fear of Fulani terrorists.
“The attacks have become a daily affair, and our people can no longer access their farms,” Ayati said, his voice trembling with emotion.
“The Fulani jihadists have occupied our land, and we are no longer able to produce the crops that were once the lifeblood of our community.”
Looming hunger in Benue and Nigeria
According to Mr. Ayati, whose fourth-generation ancestors helped found the community, “Ayati is a farming community inhabited predominantly by Christians and a handful of atheists. Common crops produced there include yam, cassava, groundnuts, rice, and maize.
“Although Zaki-Biam, the Ukum county headquarters, has claimed to be the biggest yam market in West Africa, most of the yams have been coming from Ayati,” Ayati said.
Similarly, Ayati supplied cassava and rice to the rest of Nigeria, but now no more.
“Until the commencement of attacks, kidnappings, and killings by Fulani Jihadists 5 years ago, Ayati was a bustling commercial city, as at least more than 10 trailers were loading yams from Ayati to most parts of Nigeria on a daily basis,” Ayati added.
He noted that there would be hunger in the next few months due to the displacement of farmers in Ayati and other parts of Benue by armed Fulani militia and vast herds of cattle behind them.
Ayati Settlements under Occupation by Terrorists and Herders
Residents of Ayati have cried out that their lands have come under direct occupation by Fulani terrorists.
“My great-grand-father founded Ayati 70 years ago and later became the Traditional Ruler of the Community, ruling the entire Ukum county, the town elder said, glancing at the blue sky. Villages were very peaceful until 2018, when Fulani herders appeared in Borikyo,” he said.
Local Chiefs Accused of Selling Ayati to Land Invaders
“The Fulani herdsmen connived with some village chiefs and illegally occupied our lands, turning them into grazing land,” he said.
“Virtually all the Ayati communities have been taken over by the Fulanis, and in Ayati center, which is the heartland of Ayati communities, all the inhabitants have fled. The persistent attacks by the Fulanis led to this,” Ayati said.
The grand plan is to make sure that the residents of Ayati abandon their ancestral lands so that the terrorists can take over, Ayati said.
The lands of Sai, Chito, Upi, and Borikyo, once thriving farming communities, have been seized and occupied by Fulani terrorists. The entire population of Ayati has been displaced due to relentless attacks by these terrorists.
“The whole of Borikyo is currently being occupied by new occupants, the Fulani Jihadists,” said Rev. Shimo Terlumun, who pastors the Universal Reformed Christian Church. The Federal Government is complicit in this regard.”
“When the Fulani terrorists started appearing, we appealed to the Federal Government to help stop them from taking over our lands, but the Federal Government under [President] Buhari did nothing,” he went on to say.
TruthNigeria has reported on the protests by residents of Ayati and surrounding villages over the incessant killings and inaction of the government.
“If we decide to take the initiative by protecting our lands, the Federal Government will intervene quickly, telling us not to take law into our hands by illegally acquiring arms,” Terlumun said with emphasis.
Federal Government Stands Down to Allow Slaughter
Ayati tells TruthNigeria that the Federal Government should have deployed the military or the Nigerian Army to Ayati, but it refuses to do so.
“The government sent only 12 men from the Mobile Police Force Unit to face terrorists who come with Ak-9s and numbered 300 or more when they come for attacks. We have persistently complained to the Federal Government, but to no avail. However, I know that the Benue state government under Rev. Father Hyacinth Alia is doing what it can to stem the terrorist influx and attacks,” Ayati said.
Land-grabbing Gangs Recruiting Ayati Youth to their Gang
Impoverished youths from Ayati are being enticed into criminal acts such as stealing, kidnapping, and killing by Fulani terrorists, who have huge cash illegally acquired by kidnapping, according to Rev. Father Jacob of the St. Peter Catholic Church, Ayati, whose parish includes 50 Catholic stations.
“These local gang members are of Tiv ethnicity (the Tivs are the largest ethnic group in Benue), but I believe that the state government can intervene quickly and bring them back from total radicalization,” Fr. Jacob Ankauu told TruthNigeria.
“Most of the gang members are willing to repent and give up their arms and come of the bush. I call on the government to give an amnesty for local gang members,” the priest tells Truthnigeria.
But for now, the Christian people of Ayati are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Children who once played in the streets now roam the desolate landscapes as refugees away from their lands, their eyes sunken with hunger.
Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani are conflicts reporters for TruthNigeria.
