Locals Say 100 Fulani Militia Killed 10 Christians in Attacks Sunday Morning
By Ekani Olikita
(Makurdi)— Confusion reigns in the governor’s mansion after 10 Christian residents were killed and more than 30 injured in coordinated attacks on communities in Ukum County, Central Nigeria’s Benue State, residents and local officials told TruthNigeria.
Officials have been slow to explain the motivation of the attack, and Gov. Hyacinth Alia casts doubt on the ethnicity of the organized attackers.
“Terrorists masquerading as herdsmen in the early hours of today invaded and attacked the people of Mbaterem in Ayaba, Ikpur, Yina, Aboajio, Ukpen communities of Mbazun ward, killing some and inflicting injuries on others,” Gov. Alia posted in his announcement on Sunday.
Yet, if the mass murderers were “terrorists,” he doesn’t specify whether they were Boko Haram, Islamic State of West Africa, Ansaru, Lakurawa, or JNIM. Given the mass casualties, that’s no small issue.
Governor Alia goes on to invoke an unspecified tension between unnamed parties, but likely alluding to historical rivalries between the Tiv tribe and the Jukuns in neighboring Taraba. He warns: “those who are insisting on hampering the consolidation of the peace process in the state, saying, ‘Benue lands for Benue people. Anyone who thinks that attacking us will intimidate us to leave the land is making a mistake.”
The attacks occurred around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, August 16, as residents prepared for Sunday church services in Bom, Ayaba, Ukpen, Yina, Yawe, Aboajio, Gbabo, Ikpuur and Anjorov communities in Mbazun Precinct, Mbaterem District.
Residents said the attackers were heavily armed Fulani Ethnic Militia and arrived from the direction of Rafinkada, a Jukun settlement near the Benue-Taraba border along the Wukari-Takum road. The attackers reportedly moved between communities, using guns and machetes.
Local accounts put the number of attackers at more than 100, traveling on dozens of motorcycles.
The military arrived three hours later (9:30 am), according to eyewitnesses interviewed by TruthNigeria.
The attack was carried out by Fulani Ethnic Militia from communities in Taraba State, according to all eyewitnesses interviewed.
Some Jukun tribal Militia who have been fighting their Tiv neighbors and knew the terrain, assisted Fulani militia and showed them the way into various communities, according to locals.
Eyewitnesses Describe Coordinated Assault
Tyover Emmanuel, a resident of Bom village who witnessed the attack, told TruthNigeria that the assailants struck several communities simultaneously.
“More than 100 heavily armed Fulani militia on more than 40 motorcycles from neighboring Taraba State invaded our communities simultaneously at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday while our people were preparing for church service, shouting Allahu Akbar while macheting our people as they moved from house to house.”
“I was lucky to escape because I climbed a rooftop. We have discovered 10 dead bodies so far. The death toll will increase because many are missing, while more than 30 people sustained life-threatening injuries,” he said.
Another resident, Terna Iorpuu, told TruthNigeria that the attackers moved through the area while residents struggled to escape.
“The sound of sporadic gunshots from different angles woke me and my family from sleep. I saw through my window how the Fulani attackers were slashing our people to death. They deliberately used machetes to evade security and they completed their assault without any resistance. The military came after they left.”
The precise death toll remained disputed Monday.
Ezra Nyinyongo, the state lawmaker representing Ukum Constituency, told TruthNigeria that more than 10 people were killed.
“There was an attack on my people in communities under Mbazun Council by armed Fulani terrorists in the early hours of Sunday, August 16. I quickly visited the survivors of the horrific attack who are currently receiving treatment at St. Anthony Hospital, Zaki-Biam.”
“Over 10 people died during the attack, with several others sustaining serious injuries and currently receiving medical attention,” Nyinyongo told TruthNigeria
Federal lawmaker Prince Wombo, who represents Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala Federal Constituency, put the death toll at 22, saying 22 bodies had been recovered
However, the Benue State Police Command gave a substantially lower figure, confirming three deaths and four injuries in an attack at Aboajo Village around 7 a.m. The police said additional tactical and patrol teams had been deployed and that efforts to arrest the perpetrators were underway.
Why It Matters to Washington
Christopher Ahangba Ayati, Benue State Director of Information, a native of Ayati in Ukum County and a security analyst familiar with Nigeria’s Middle Belt conflicts said the attack should concern U.S. policymakers because persistent violence in agricultural communities can fuel displacement, food insecurity and wider instability.
“What is particularly concerning is the combination of coordinated attacks, cross-border movement and delayed security response. Washington should view this not simply as a local farmer-herder dispute, but as part of a broader pattern of land grabbing and Islamization that can undermine food production, displace vulnerable Christian populations and create conditions for extremist recruitment,” Ayati said.
The crisis also has implications for U.S.-Nigeria security cooperation. Benue is one of Nigeria’s major agricultural regions, and prolonged insecurity could further disrupt farming, deepen humanitarian needs and increase pressure on an already strained regional security system.
The attacks took place in Sankera, a predominantly Christian-occupied area comprising Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala. The region has endured years of violence involving armed groups, communal militias and criminal networks.
Independent conflict monitoring has documented the wider scale of civilian killings and displacement in Nigeria, while local residents say repeated attacks have forced farmers from their ancestral lands.
The intent of the massacre in Sankera is likely to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s claim that he has turned a corner in Nigeria’s terror war as he heads into a re-election test in January of 2027, according to subject experts in Washington.
Ekani Olikita is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
