By TruthNigeria Staff
(Washington DC) Prominent Agatu citizens say Fulani Ethnic Militia continue to overrun villages despite government claims of military presence.
Elder Innocent Aboje, a 67-year-old community leader from Eguma, fled in July 2024 after militias sacked his village. He told TruthNigeria that soldiers in Agatu “are too few and too poorly armed to stop the attackers.”
He described how communities, once hopeful for military protection, now see the troops as overwhelmed men “facing an enemy far stronger in numbers and weapons.”
Since last year, several Agatu communities have fallen to Fulani terrorists. Some have been reclaimed, while others remain deserted.
Aboje recalled what he saw during a patrol with police and vigilantes. “The soldiers in Agatu look abandoned. Their weapons cannot match their adversaries; their numbers are small. They cannot withstand the kind of force the Fulani terrorists bring against us.”
Force Too Small, Too Weak
A Benue lawmaker from Agatu, who requested anonymity, put it bluntly:
“When I visited Agatu, I saw more policemen under Operation Zenda than soldiers. The force had little more than pipe guns and teargas canisters. How can 20 men with such weapons secure communities like Egwule Kaduna, Egwule Ankpa, Ipelle, and Eguma?”
Operation Zenda, a joint security task force created by the Benue State Government in 2018, was originally deployed to tackle armed robbery, banditry, and kidnapping across the state. While it earned respect for cracking down on violent crime, locals say its men are now overstretched and poorly armed against Fulani militias carrying AK-47s and operating in military-style formations.
Unlike troops fighting insurgents in the Northwest, those stationed in Agatu lack serious arms, logistics, and reinforcements. “The overstretched military cannot withstand the weight of these attacks,” the lawmaker lamented.
The numbers back his fears. Fewer than 150 soldiers are scattered across Agatu, Gwer West, Apa, and Otukpo. They face more than 3,000 Fulani fighters sweeping in from Nasarawa and Kogi in coordinated raids, striking from multiple directions.
Fulani Terrorists Strangle Agatu
On Saturday, August 30, 2025, the farming village of Egwuma in Agatu County was sacked for the thirteenth time. Fulani militias stormed in at about 3:00 p.m., surrounding the settlement from both sides of the forest. Within minutes, gunfire and flames engulfed the church and school where mobile police had set up camp.
“They fired nonstop for thirty minutes until the police were overwhelmed,” said 45-year-old farmer Adams Ochoche. “It was chaos. We couldn’t save anyone.”
By the end, one mobile policeman and a vigilante were dead, and more than 20 homes lay in ashes. Survivors fled through the bush, abandoning their belongings.
This raid followed two earlier attacks that killed six, including a woman and her son.
Egwuma, 98 percent Catholic and known for rice, beans, cassava, and yam, lies 106 km southwest of Makurdi, Benue’s capital, separated from Nasarawa only by the River Benue.
Vigilantes Fighting with Pipe Guns
Samson Alidu, a volunteer guard, known as a “vigilante” in Nigerian slang, described the assault:
“They came in waves, shooting into the church and school. We tried to resist, but their firepower crushed us. They had AK-47s. We only carry dane guns (locally made shotguns). How can we fight men with war weapons when we have sticks?”
Another vigilante, Odeh Idakwo, confirmed that militias launched a parallel attack on Ikogocho Sabo the same afternoon. “They came on motorbikes around 3 p.m. We fought beside the police, but we couldn’t chase them. They simply outgunned us.”
He warned that “another settlement, Egwule Ankpa, is already surrounded. Families are running with their children on their heads. If nothing is done, another massacre will happen.”
Voices of Leadership
Agatu’s council chairman, Melvin Ejeh, confirmed the attack, saying:
“Yes, there was an incident. The Nigerian military is on the ground. But the situation is still volatile—please be cautious.”
But community leaders are far less restrained. Mike Alidu Magaji, president of the Idoma Youths, was blunt:
“We toured Agatu with the military and even your TruthNigeria team. What I saw frightened me. Our forces here are few in number and poorly armed. They cannot match terrorists carrying machine guns.
What Agatu needs is serious reinforcement — armored personnel carriers, drones, attack helicopters. The government uses these in Zamfara and Katsina. Are our lives in Agatu worth less than those in the Northwest?”
A Region Left to Fend for Itself
For now, Agatu communities are being picked off one after another. The lack of manpower, weak logistics, and outdated weapons leave soldiers and police unable to hold ground, forcing villagers to abandon their ancestral homes.
“The bitter truth,” Magaji warned, “is that if urgent action is not taken, Agatu will be emptied of its people, and our lands will be left for terrorists to occupy.”
