The Chairman of Agatu Local Government of Benue State, James Ejeh, has raised the alarm over what he described as the renewed wave of violent attacks in communities in the council area following the U.S. strikes on bandits in Sokoto, Sokoto State.
He said the fresh attacks were being perpetrated by bandits who fled Sokoto after the strikes.
In a statement issued on Friday, the chairman said, “The council is presently experiencing a renewed wave of violent attacks allegedly perpetrated by armed herders, which we firmly believe is a fallout of recent military airstrikes in the Sokoto axis.”
The United States of America had, on Christmas Day 2025, launched missile strikes on Islamic State terrorists believed to have camped in Sokoto forest.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the strikes destabilised the terrorists, forcing them to relocate from their hideouts to another area.
However, Benue communities were first to raise the alarm over the influx of terrorists fleeing from Sokoto to their areas.
Speaking on the influx in the statement, Ejeh said, “These armed elements, fleeing from neighbouring areas, have reportedly infiltrated Agatu communities and unleashed unprecedented terror on innocent and defenceless residents.
“These attacks have resulted in the brutal killing of our people, widespread injuries, reported cases of rape, the destruction of homes and farmlands, and the displacement of hundreds of residents who are now living in fear and uncertainty.
“This situation represents a grave humanitarian and security crisis that demands immediate attention.”
Ejeh decried the continued bloodshed in Agatu land, saying, “Our people are being hunted on their ancestral land without provocation, and this cannot be allowed to continue.”
Following the invasion, the chairman announced the immediate revocation of the 2017 agreement that granted herdsmen access to Adepati Island for grazing.
“That agreement, entered into by the then administration of Agatu Local Government Council, was never carried out in good faith. It was done under the guise of promoting peaceful coexistence, but at the expense of the Agatu people.
“The negative consequences of that action have been enormous. Consequently, I hereby declare the agreement null and void and of no effect whatsoever,” he added.
Ejeh thereby directed armed herders to vacate Agatu land with immediate effect, adding that no portion of the LG’s land belongs to herders under any guise.
“Agatu is an agrarian society, and our farmlands must be protected to guarantee food security and the livelihoods of our people,” he said.
The chairman called on the Federal Government and all relevant security agencies to urgently deploy a reinforced military and police presence in the local government, stating that the current security arrangement was grossly inadequate to stem the tide of these attacks.
