Ochetoha K’Idoma, the apex socio cultural organisation of the Idoma Nation, has raised fresh security concerns over killings in Benue South Senatorial District, alleging the presence of armed mercenaries in parts of the area and warning of reports that more fighters are gathering along border communities ahead of possible attacks.
The group also said it gave the Nigeria Police Force specific intelligence about an impending attack on Otukpo Nobi community 48 hours before the assault, and has demanded an explanation over what it described as the failure to act on the warning.
It urged security agencies to treat fresh reports of armed movements around the Kogi, Nasarawa and Taraba border corridors as an early warning requiring immediate preventive action.
Ochetoha stated this in a rejoinder dated 31 July 2026 to a press statement issued two days earlier by the Benue State Chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, over the deteriorating security situation in the senatorial district.
The rejoinder was jointly signed by Ochetoha President General, Prof. Yakubu A. Ochefu, FHSN, FNAL, and Secretary General, Chief Paul Edeh, Esq.
While mourning the loss of Idoma, Fulani and other lives in the violence, the organisation faulted key aspects of MACBAN’s account, particularly the description of the perpetrators of attacks on Otukpo Nobi, Ondo Ogobia and Efeyi as unknown or yet to be identified assailants.
Ochetoha alleged that more than 50 heavily armed militia fighters had operated across the affected communities in the preceding two weeks, carrying out coordinated raids and killing civilians, including women and children.
It pointed to victims taken to the Federal University Otukpo Teaching Hospital as evidence of the severity of the attacks and called for an investigation into those behind the violence.
The Idoma body went further, alleging that the attackers were mercenaries operating “on the payroll of Fulani leaders in the zone,” and maintained that they were not indigenous to the affected communities.
It said the pattern of the attacks suggested planning, financing and coordination that should form a central part of any security investigation into the crisis.
Ochetoha linked its concerns to events following the killing of the late MACBAN Benue state Chairman, Ardo Risku Muhammad, and his associate, Yakubu Isah, on 26 June 2026.
According to the rejoinder, some Fulani opinion leaders took to social media barely three days after the incident and allegedly threatened reprisals against Idoma communities, including references to locations, timelines and targets. The organisation wants security agencies to identify those behind the messages and determine whether the threats had any connection with attacks that followed.
Ochetoha said, “These threats were widely circulated. What has since occurred is the fulfilment of those publicly issued threats, not spontaneous communal violence.”
Central to the organisation’s case is its claim that security agencies had advance information before the attack on Otukpo Nobi.
It said the Police were formally alerted 48 hours before the incident and provided with specific intelligence about the planned assault. The organisation did not stop at restating the warning, but demanded that the Police explain what happened to the information and why the attack was not prevented.
“We demand a full account from the Police authorities as to why actionable intelligence was not acted upon, and we call for accountability at the highest levels of the security command structure in Benue State,” the statement read.
Ochetoha said the issue had assumed greater urgency following what it described as credible fresh intelligence about armed men moving towards Idoma land.
It alleged that armed fighters had been sighted coming through the Taraba and Nasarawa border axis, while another group of more than 100 armed men had gathered around the Kogi and Benue boundary. According to the organisation, messages attributed to the groups contained threats of attacks against Idoma communities in August.
The claims could not be independently verified, but Ochetoha urged the security agencies to investigate them immediately rather than wait for another round of violence before responding.
“We believe the security agencies are privy to this information. If they are not, we are drawing their attention to it now. If these attacks do happen, the security agencies should not say we did not warn them,” it said.
Beyond the killings, Ochetoha also challenged the narrative around cattle rustling, insisting that ownership of some of the herds in dispute had been wrongly presented.
According to the organisation, a significant number of cattle described as rustled belonged to residents of Ugboju and surrounding Idoma communities who had entrusted them to Fulani herders under traditional custodial arrangements. It said an investigation into the ownership of the animals would establish whether they were stolen or being recovered by their owners.
The group also alleged that Idoma livestock owners had themselves lost cattle to rustlers in Jericho and Ogoli Ipugbogbo within the preceding week. In one case, it claimed, those responsible sent messages telling Idoma residents to restrict themselves to crop farming and leave cattle business to what they described as its “rightful owners.”
“Any serious investigation will establish the true ownership of these herds and who stole them,” Ochetoha said.
The organisation also rejected MACBAN’s description of Ondaje Security as a criminal gang, saying the group comprised local youths involved in protecting communities following repeated attacks.
Ochetoha maintained that persons accused of specific criminal offences should be investigated and prosecuted where evidence existed, but insisted that community defenders should not be collectively branded criminals merely for responding to security threats.
The group also cited the recent directive by the Inspector General of Police for illegal camps and settlements in affected areas to be cleared within 14 days, saying the order reinforced security concerns communities had raised about the presence of armed elements in the area.
Ochetoha, however, faulted the decision to publicly disclose the proposed operation, arguing that advance notice could give the very persons being targeted an opportunity to flee, relocate their camps or conceal weapons before security personnel moved in.
Despite its sharp disagreement with MACBAN over the causes and actors behind the violence, Ochetoha accepted the need for dialogue and supported proposals for a joint response to the crisis.
It backed the establishment of a Joint Peace and Security Committee involving representatives of affected Idoma, Igede and Agatu communities as well as Fulani stakeholders.
It also supported increased deployment of conventional security agencies, an emergency stakeholders’ summit involving traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth groups, MACBAN and security agencies, and the investigation and prosecution of those found responsible for killings and other crimes.
But the organisation said its support for those measures was conditional on investigations being comprehensive and even handed, pointing to what it described as a troubling disparity in the security response following the killing of the MACBAN state chairman.
Ochetoha alleged that Idoma residents were arrested, taken to Makurdi and detained for weeks without charge, while some forest guards of Idoma extraction remained in custody as of 31 July.
It contrasted this with what it said was the apparent absence of action against individuals accused of issuing threats of reprisals against Idoma communities on social media.
The group therefore called for investigators to look beyond those accused of carrying out attacks and examine the possible roles of financiers, leaders and others who may have facilitated or encouraged the violence.
“Justice cannot be one sided. Any framework that investigates only one party while shielding the other will be rejected by the Idoma people,” the statement said.
Ochetoha nevertheless maintained that its position was not a rejection of peaceful coexistence with other communities, saying dialogue could only produce lasting peace where it was accompanied by security, accountability and equal application of the law.
“We do not seek war. But we will not stand by while our communities are decimated, our people displaced, and our land taken by force,” the organisation said.
It called on the Federal Government, the Benue State Government and security agencies to investigate the fresh warnings, strengthen protection around vulnerable communities and border corridors, dismantle illegal camps and bring those responsible for violence to justice.
“The Idoma nation will continue to use every lawful means at its disposal to protect its people and defend its ancestral homeland,” Ochetoha added.
