As attacks intensify, Christian families abandon fields, homes, and livelihoods across Benue’s farming belt.
By Mike Odeh James
APA COUNTY, BENUE STATE — In the farming communities of Apa County, Benue State, fear has replaced ordinary life as repeated militia attacks devastate predominantly Christian villages.
For generations, residents of Ojantele, Ikobi, Asaba Akpete, Odogbo and neighboring settlements lived by farming, fishing and hunting. Today, many say they can no longer safely reach their fields because of relentless killings, kidnappings and ambushes by gunmen they identify as members of Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM).
Apa sits in Benue’s southern belt, part of a region where farming communities have endured years of escalating attacks attributed to armed herders. The violence follows a pattern seen across Nigeria’s Middle Belt: gunmen seize farmland, displace residents, and choke off the harvests that sustain entire villages.
A Farmer’s Ordeal
Among the victims was 75-year-old Otene Oyaje, a devout Christian and commercial farmer known for his yam, cassava, guinea corn and cashew plantations in Ojantele.
His daughter, Hannah Otene, said the assaults on their community intensified through 2025 as Fulani Terrorists increasingly occupied farmland and attacked villagers.
“Fulani terrorists have constantly encroached on our farms and attacked our people,” she told TruthNigeria.
In March 2025, she recalled, her father went to his farm with laborers when armed men invaded the area. Six Christians were killed. Otene was hacked with machetes and left for dead in a pool of blood. He survived, but his family said he never fully recovered.
“The police and Army did not respond, and nobody went after the attackers,” Hannah said.
The March 2026 Massacre
For months, residents abandoned their farms. Hunger eventually drove them back. Then, community members say, tragedy struck again on March 13, 2026.
At about 6 a.m., farmers working their land were ambushed. Six people, including Otene, were killed, while Japheth Sunday suffered gunshot wounds that shattered his hand. A young woman, Patience Anebi Sunday, was abducted and held in a militia camp for more than 24 hours before she was freed.
Nigerian outlets reported a wider toll. According to The Sun Nigeria and Vanguard, at least 15 people were killed in the Ojantele attack, with 11 others injured and several still missing. A local source said the attackers arrived with a large herd of cattle before opening fire on residents returning from their farms.
“The armed herders came with a large number of cattle and were grazing freely. When some women and children were returning from their cashew farms, the herdsmen suddenly opened fire.”
“Our community is now deserted,” said another resident who gave his name as Abu. “These were innocent people trying to earn a living who were killed unjustifiably.”
Since then, residents say, Ojantele has lived under siege. “We are living in fear every day,” Hannah said. “People can hardly go to their farms anymore.”
Neighboring Villages Share the Same Fate
Similar accounts emerged from nearby Odogbo. Ada Ajilima showed TruthNigeria his left hand four fingers severed in an attack.
“My village, Odogbo, is over 90-percent Christian,” he said. “We are farmers, fishermen and hunters.”
Ajilima, who once sold pork, said armed men stormed the community in March 2025. “They attacked people going to church while another group came to my shop,” he recalled. “They started butchering me with machetes. I tried to defend myself, but it was hopeless.” He was left with deep cuts to his neck, back and hands.
Checkpoints Everywhere, Attacks Continue
The government has deployed military and police checkpoints across Apa and neighboring counties, but residents say the security presence has brought little relief.
Josiah Immanuel, a commercial driver working between Otukpo and Agatu, called the highway from Adoka to Atanganyi extremely dangerous. “Passengers are either kidnapped or killed by Fulani Terrorists,” he said. “The villages along the road are no longer safe.”
Odeh Ohocheta, a farmer from Ikobi, accused security personnel of standing by during attacks. “The military prefer mounting roadblocks on highways instead of pursuing terrorists inside the forests,” he said. “When communities call for help, they hardly respond.”
Farming Collapse and Growing Hunger
Across Apa County, residents say the violence has crippled farming, the economic backbone of the area.
“We cannot farm anymore,” Hannah Otene said. “Communities like Akpete, Ikobi, Atanganyi, Asaba and Ojantele are gradually facing hunger.”
Another Ikobi resident, Josiah Ikwulono, warned that many villages risk losing their livelihoods entirely as the forests around their farms remain unsafe and once-busy settlements empty out.
From Hunger to Hope
On May 23, 2026, Equipping The Persecuted (ETP), the U.S.-based humanitarian group led by Judd Saul, delivered food aid to 54 widows, men and children in the predominantly Christian communities of Ojantele, Asaba Akpete and Ikobi.
The relief came as families battled severe hunger after repeated attacks destroyed homes, displaced residents and crippled farming. Some parents had been skipping meals so their children could eat, and elderly survivors faced their grief with little outside support.
Many beneficiaries, weak and emotionally drained, wept as they received the support. “These people remembered us when many had forgotten us,” one said. “May God bless Judd Saul and everyone supporting Equipping The Persecuted for standing with us in our suffering.”
For the people of Apa County, the aid was more than food. It was a reminder, residents said, that their suffering had not gone unseen — even as the siege around their farms tightens, and the forests beyond remain in the hands of the men they fear.
Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter and he writes for TruthNigeria.
