A human rights organisation, Elixir Trust Foundation, has called for urgent federal intervention and accountability following renewed attacks in Benue State that have reportedly claimed thousands of lives in recent days, including children, women, and elderly victims.
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The Foundation issued a strongly worded statement on Tuesday condemning what it described as brutal attacks by Fulani militia on rural communities across the state. The organisation expressed alarm over the continuing cycle of violence that has persisted for years without adequate government response or accountability from security agencies.
Executive Director Emmanuel Ikule described the killings as “a direct affront to the right to life, peace, and dignity” and criticised the impunity with which the attacks are being carried out. The foundation characterised the ongoing violence as part of broader insecurity challenges affecting multiple regions across Nigeria.
The rights group has made several specific demands of government authorities, including the immediate deployment of adequate security personnel to affected communities and the launch of transparent investigations into the killings. The organisation also called for independent probes into the role of security officers and public officials, noting the absence of reported arrests despite the scale of the violence.
Among the foundation’s key demands is the implementation of Benue State’s Open Grazing Prohibition Law of 2017, which was enacted to address farmer-herder conflicts but has faced enforcement challenges. The group also urged authorities to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to survivors and displaced families, particularly women and children.
The organisation has offered to coordinate support for displaced populations, providing contact information for those wishing to donate food and non-food items to affected communities. The foundation stated that humanitarian support should extend to all internally displaced persons, not just recently displaced individuals.
Additionally, the rights group called for the release of protesters arrested in the state, arguing that peaceful protest is constitutionally protected under Section 39 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. The organisation advocated for strengthened community-based conflict prevention systems and enhanced cooperation between neighbouring states, particularly Benue and Plateau, to address what it termed “genocide happening in Middle Belt states.”
The Elixir Trust Foundation warned that continued government failure to protect lives and uphold justice deepens citizen distrust in the state, undermines national unity, and perpetuates cycles of trauma and displacement currently witnessed in Benue State.
The statement comes amid escalating concerns about farmer-herder conflicts across Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, where competition over land and water resources has fueled deadly confrontations between agricultural communities and nomadic pastoralists.
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