…Genocidal Attacks And Land Grabbing, Says FENRAD
The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), a Human Rights advocacy organisation, has strongly condemned the ongoing genocidal attacks and violent land grabbing in Benue State, which have led to the tragic loss of lives, the displacement of thousands, and the destruction of ancestral farmlands and homes.
In a Press Statement, Executive Director, FENRAD, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, said that what was
Unfolding in Benue was not only a humanitarian crisis but a gross violation of human rights and a threat to national security.
According to him, reports indicated that communities in Guma, Logo, Agatu, and other local government areas had come under sustained attacks by suspected armed herders and militia groups.
He noted that these attacks were systematic and appeared aimed at forcefully displacing indigenous populations and seizing their lands for occupation and control.
Nwafor stated: “FENRAD views this as an act of environmental and cultural genocide, where communities are stripped not only of their homes and means of livelihood but also of their ancestral ties to the land, which holds historical, spiritual, and economic significance.
“We note with deep concern the failure of security agencies and the federal government to arrest the situation decisively. Despite repeated cries from affected communities, faith leaders, civil society organisations, and international observers, there has been no adequate protection or justice for victims. Instead, impunity reigns.”
He therefore demanded the immediate and strategic deployment of security forces to protect vulnerable communities in Benue and prevent further bloodshed, an independent judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the killings, displacement, and land grabbing, and to hold perpetrators accountable and a restoration and protection of displaced persons through coordinated state and federal intervention, including resettlement, reconstruction, and psychosocial support.
Nwafor also demanded for the protection of ancestral lands from illegal occupation and conversion, in line with Nigeria’s Constitution and international human rights frameworks, a National Policy on Internal Displacement and Land Use to address recurring land conflicts, climate-driven migration, and ethno-religious violence in Nigeria and added that the federal government must recognize that failure to act is complicity.
He further stated: “Nigeria cannot claim to be a democracy when certain groups are allowed to be exterminated silently and dispossessed of their land without consequence. FENRAD calls on the National Human Rights Commission, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, and the international community to speak out and demand justice for the people of Benue. Silence is no longer an option. Enough is enough. The killings must stop!”
