The Ayatutu Cultural and Social Development Initiative (AYACASODI) has raised concern over what it described as a renewed move by the Taraba State Government to displace Tiv communities in Wukari Local Government Area under the pretext of establishing a Military Forward Operating Base (FOB).
In a statement signed by its National President, Chief Timothy Baaki, the group accused the government of attempting to erase Tiv settlements through the allocation of large portions of their ancestral land for the project.
According to the statement, government officials led a delegation to Ikyaior and Jandekyula communities on September 27, 2025, where they announced that 150 hectares of land from each community had been designated for the military facility.
AYACASODI condemned the move, alleging it was ‘a deliberate effort to dispossess the Tiv people of their ancestral lands under the guise of a Military Forward Operating Base (FOB).’
The statement reads: ‘The Tiv people of Taraba are not against the establishment of military facilities for peacekeeping purposes but designating 300 hectares of land in the aforementioned Tiv areas for a Military Forward Operating Base is a clear plot to evict the people from their ancestral lands, using the noble image of the Nigerian military as cover. This is highly condemnable and unacceptable.
‘We value and respect the Nigerian Armed Forces. However, the process in question is shrouded in injustice, exclusion, and hidden motives. A FOB does not require 150 hectares of fertile farmland, covering large compounds. This excessive land grab is suspicious, unjustifiable, and unacceptable.
‘At the outbreak of the Jukun-Tiv crisis, the Taraba State Government deployed the military to Tiv villages such as Tor-Iorshagher, Tor-Musa, Kyernum, Zegeate, and Tse-Daa in Wukari LGA. Rather than acting with fairness, impartiality, and professionalism, the military openly allied with the Jukun and have persistently resisted any attempt by the rightful landowners, the (Tivs) to return home.
‘The same situation is true in Ibi LGA, where Tiv villages like Ibua, Danwanzan, Gidinwaya, and Gidan-Gboko have suffered similar injustices. Today, with Ikyaior and Jandekyula being the only surviving Tiv villages, Jukun leaders are seeking to use state power to completely evict their inhabitants.
‘In April 2025, a similar attempt was resisted. The resurfacing action a confirmation that Taraba state government is desperate planning to evict the Tiv people from Taraba state.
‘Since April 2019, over 320 Tiv villages have been destroyed, with more than 280 still deserted. Instead of facilitating the safe return of these IDPs, whose number is estimated at over 280,000 people across Taraba State, the government is rather plotting to seize more land. This is a direct assault on the survival, identity, and dignity of a people.
‘We wish to as a group demand that the Defence Headquarters and all military authorities should immediately halt this plan and prevent the misuse of the Nigerian Armed Forces for ethnicity and political purposes.
‘The federal government and all relevant agencies should call governor Agbu Kefas to order to stop the weaponization of state power for ethnic domination.
‘We demand that any discussion regarding land for military operations in the aforementioned areas, all Tiv leaders and stakeholders must be fully and fairly involved. Humanitarian agencies should be urgently mobilized to provide relief, resettlement, and reintegration of Tiv IDPs who have endured six years of pain, neglect, and injustice.
‘The Nigerian military is the pride of our nation, a symbol of unity and justice. Its image should not be allowed to be dragged into a shameful plot of ethnic cleansing.
‘We therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Defence Headquarters, the National Security Adviser, and all relevant authorities to act swiftly and decisively, as the survival of the Tiv people of southern Taraba is at stake.’
When contacted, the Special Adviser to Governor Agbu Kefas on Media and Digital Communication, Hon. Emmanuel Bello, confirmed the development but declined to comment further, referring inquiries to the Wukari Local Government Chairman, Hon. Dauda Samaila.
Efforts to reach Hon. Samaila for clarification were unsuccessful as calls and messages to his phone were not answered.