The District Head of Jato-Aka in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State has raised the alarm over escalating violence by suspected herdsmen, warning that the persistent attacks are crippling food production and forcing residents to abandon their communities.
In an exclusive interview with News Central, Jato-Aka District Head Simon Baver described the situation as increasingly dire, saying fear has gripped local farmers who now see returning to their farmlands as a death sentence.
“These attacks have continued since March. Entire communities are being emptied out,” Baver said. “People are running for their lives. They can’t plant, they can’t harvest — they are simply too afraid.”
Several villages in Jato-Aka are reportedly deserted, with many families seeking refuge in relatively safer areas, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Local stakeholders have renewed calls for a robust and coordinated security intervention, urging the government to urgently stem the tide of violence and protect the livelihoods of farming communities.
Kwande is among the most affected local government areas in Benue North-East Senatorial District, alongside Ukum and Logo, where recent flare-ups blamed on armed herders and bandits have reignited longstanding tensions.
Another village in Jato-Aka is Mbachon. It was last attacked on March 22, 2025. The community has remained largely deserted since then, with only a few residents returning to pick up the pieces of their lives. Farmers who have dared to resume cultivation now work under tense conditions, leaving the village for safer locations at night and returning at daybreak to tend to their fields.
Residents in the village, which borders Kashimbila in Taraba state say non-state actors have been attacking them from that axis frequently.
