Residents dispute claims of Government Support, Cite Disruption of planned Mass Burial
Caskets donated by U.S Based Missionary Organizations
By Ekani Olikita
Grief and anger swept Turan District in Kwande County, Benue State, on Thursday as families buried loved ones killed in recent Fulani Militia attacks. Video here.
The burials were conducted individually after plans for a collective ceremony were abruptly disrupted on March 12, sparking controversy and conflicting accounts from residents and local authorities. Full report here.
The victims, 23 residents from predominantly Christian farming communities, were killed on March 5 when armed attackers raided Mbachom in Yaav precinct and Mbaav in Mbadura precinct in Turan District of Kwande County.
Survivors described the coordinated attacks as sudden and brutal, leaving dozens injured and many families displaced.
Local leaders and faith-based organizations had initially planned a mass burial for March 12. Organizers said the event was intended not only to honor the victims but also to draw international attention to the scale of violence affecting rural communities in Benue State.
Representatives from two U.S.-based humanitarian organizations—Equipping The Persecuted (ETP) and Building Zion (BZ)—had traveled to the area to witness the ceremony before it was disrupted.
Residents allege that Kwande County Chairman, Vitalis Terhile Neji, was responsible for the abrupt disruption, forcing families to retrieve the bodies of their relatives from Jato-Aka Mortuary and proceed with private burials instead.
“We were ready to bury our people with dignity and let the world see what has happened here but everything was disrupted by Kwande County Chairman, Vitalis Terhile Neji. In the end, families had no choice but to take their loved ones home and bury them quietly,” Fabian Terseer Yaaga, a resident of Mbachom Community, told TruthNigeria.
Residents Dispute Claims by County Chairman
Residents have also denied claims by Mr. Vitalis that arrangements were made and that the victims were given appropriate burials.
“We just retrieved the body of my cousin from the mortuary for burial,” said Grace Anume, whose relative was among those killed. “We kept hearing promises of a ‘befitting burial,’ but nothing materialized. Instead, there was confusion and interference,” she told TruthNigeria.
Another resident, Daniel Kpev, described the situation as deeply disheartening. “We felt abandoned,” he said. “At a time when the government should stand with grieving families, what we experienced was disruption.”
Support for the bereaved families came largely from international faith-based groups. Equipping The Persecuted (ETP), a United States–based nonprofit, had donated caskets for all 23 victims ahead of the planned mass burial. Representatives of the organization, along with Alex Barbir, Founder of Building Zion (BZ), were present at the Jato-Aka mortuary before the event was called off.
Also in attendance was Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), an advocate for religious freedom. Witnesses said the delegation was left stranded following the disruption of the ceremony.
Despite the setback, the donated caskets were eventually distributed to families, allowing them to proceed with individual burials across affected communities.
For many residents, however, the manner in which events unfolded has deepened their sense of loss.
“We are not just mourning our loved ones,” Anume said. “We are also grieving the lack of support and the feeling that our pain does not matter.”
The persistent attacks on Turan District are part of a broader pattern of violence that has affected several communities in Benue State and other Middle Belt States in recent years. While the conflict is often reported by mainstream media—bankrolled by the Nigerian Government—as merely a Farmers/Herders conflict, local residents insist that it is an ethno-religious cleansing aimed at killing Christians in the predominantly Christian Middle Belt States, taking over their land, and establishing Islamic caliphates.
“We have no Fulani community and don’t share any boundary with them anywhere in our State. They chant ‘Allahu Akbar,’ reminiscent of ISIS, in every attack. How can this be farmer/herders crisis? It is purely a jihad war by Fulani jihadists aimed at killing our people, taking over our land, and implementing their Sharia Law,” Terna Akosu, a resident of Mbaav, told TruthNigeria.
As families continue to bury their dead, calls are growing for greater accountability and international attention to the crisis.
“We want the world to understand what is happening here,” Akosu said. “Our people deserve protection, and those who have died deserve to be remembered with dignity.”
For now, the quiet, scattered burials across Turan stand as a somber testament to lives lost—and to a community still searching for answers.
Ekani Olikita is a Conflict Reporter for TruthNigeria
