Tiv Diaspora Group Urges Urgent Action on Insecurity in Benue, Middle Belt States

The Mutual Union of the Tiv in the United States (MUTA) has issued a strong call for immediate and sustained action to address the deepening humanitarian crisis and escalating insecurity affecting Tiv communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

In a communiqué released on Sunday at the end of its 31st Annual Convention held in St. Louis, Missouri, MUTA expressed grave concern over the ongoing violence and displacement of thousands of Tiv people across Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states. The statement was signed by MUTA President, Prof. Akaa Ayangeakaa, and Secretary, Beeior Rov-Ikpah.

“We are gravely concerned about the ongoing insecurity affecting Tiv communities, particularly the massacre and displacement of thousands due to violence by armed herdsmen,” the communiqué stated.

The group urged the Federal Government to take immediate steps to provide adequate security and ensure the safe return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes.

“We seek urgent action by the Nigerian Federal Government to provide adequate security and facilitate the safe return of Internally Displaced Persons to their ancestral lands in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba states,” the group said.

MUTA further called for a comprehensive resettlement and recovery plan that includes economic empowerment initiatives and infrastructure development to help rebuild communities devastated by violence.

In addition, the group called on the Benue State Government to fully enforce the state’s Anti-Open Grazing Law and establish community-based surveillance networks that engage Tiv youth in local security efforts.

“The Benue government should take deliberate and sustained action to empower relevant agencies and ensure the full implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law, which is critical to protecting the lives, livelihoods, and ancestral lands of the Tiv people,” the statement added.

To strengthen protection, MUTA recommended the deployment of modern security technologies, including drones, to monitor and secure Tiv communities. According to the group, such technologies would “enhance real-time monitoring, improve response times, and serve as a force multiplier in detecting and deterring threats.”

The union also demanded an end to the occupation of Tiv ancestral lands by armed herders and other groups, warning that continued encroachment threatens the survival of Tiv cultural identity and agricultural heritage.

“We seek an end to the occupation of Tiv lands by armed herders and other groups, which threatens the survival of Tiv cultural and agricultural heritage,” the group said.

In its closing appeal, MUTA urged the international community to intervene in addressing the humanitarian crisis and to hold perpetrators of violence accountable under international law.

The organisation pledged to continue engaging Nigerian authorities, international organisations, and human rights bodies to advocate for the protection of Tiv lives and property and to collaborate with other ethnic and cultural groups in promoting peace and justice across Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.