Three Killed, Hundreds Flee as Fulani Terrorists Tighten Grip on Idoma Homeland
By Mike Odeh James
MAKURDI, Nigeria—Five Christian farmers walked to their ancestral fields after the first rains. By day’s end, three were dead, one critically wounded, and only one escaped unharmed.
The attack on Ikobi village in Apa County, Benue State, unfolded on a morning that had begun with relief. Ogbewa Audu, Isaac Ada, Comfort Echoda, David Owoicho Omale, and a fifth companion gathered their tools and set out to plant.
Midway into their work, gunfire erupted. Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) gunmen opened fire. Audu and Ada were killed instantly. Echoda’s legs were shattered. The remaining two farmers fled.
“Midway into our planting, five gunshots rang out. Ogbewa Audu and Isaac Ada were lying in a pool of blood. Comfort Echoda escaped, but her legs were severely shattered,” survivor Adoma Omale told TruthNigeria.
One who initially escaped, 32-year-old David Owoicho Omale, was later found dead. Community members said he was killed while attempting to flee.
“Since the beginning of this year, Apa County has witnessed several attacks by Fulani Terrorists resulting in the deaths of many Christian women, children, and the elderly,” elderly farmer Ogah Adakowa told TruthNigeria.
Terrorists Operating from Forest Camps
“Those responsible are Fulani gunmen hiding in the forests of Ikobi, Akpete, Asaba, and Ataganyi — all in Apa County,” community source Odagocho Albert Idenu said.
Idenu said the same militants raided Ijaha and Ikobi villages on April 30, 2026, shouting religious slogans before being repelled. He described sustained attacks since March 2026 that have forced hundreds of Idoma residents off their land.
“These attacks are not isolated. The Fulani Terrorists have been attacking us on a regular basis, forcing hundreds of Idoma people to abandon their ancestral homes,” Idenu said.
Displaced families describe a double trap: militia violence on one side and a military presence they say offers little protection on the other.
“Already, many farmers, young men and women are leaving affected communities and fleeing to Otukpo, Makurdi, or Abuja,” Idenu told TruthNigeria.
“We are hemmed in between the Fulani Terrorists and the Nigerian military, which has refused to attack them,” another resident said.
‘A Coordinated Campaign to Take Over Idoma Land’
“It is a coordinated attempt by Fulani herders and terrorists to take over Idoma land through sustained fear and displacement,” Chief Godwin Obla, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, declared at the Idoma Centenary Plus Celebration in Otukpo on May 30.
Obla noted a rarely addressed dimension: political consequences. Since Benue State’s creation in 1976, no Idoma person has served as governor — five decades during which the state’s second-largest ethnic group has never occupied Government House.
“If we do not control our land, we cannot control our future,” Obla said.
In January 2026, Obla co-signed a statement calling on the US and Israel to engage Benue communities after an attack killed four people.
“We are calling this what it is. And we are demanding that those with the power to stop it answer for why they have not,” Obla told TruthNigeria.
The federal government has not responded publicly. Abuja has declined to characterize the violence as ethnic cleansing or terrorism, according to David Onyilokwu Idah.
“Godwin Obla has said vividly what is happening in Benue and in the Idoma-speaking area,” said Idah, Director of the International Human Rights Commission in Abuja.
“The Idoma are the second-largest ethnic group in Benue State and occupy nine counties rich in gold, limestone, and lithium. The region is an important agricultural belt, and affected communities are overwhelmingly Christian. The Fulani Ethnic Militia and their sponsors want to take over Idoma land,” Idah said.
Attacks Force Close to a Million to Flee
According to Idah, humanitarian agencies estimate 400,000 to 500,000 people are currently displaced across Benue State due to years of Fulani Ethnic Militia attacks. Broader estimates place affected persons far higher.
Washington Is Watching
“The international community — especially the United States — is getting more interested in what is going on in Nigeria,” Idah said.
“A few days ago, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that President Donald Trump ordered him to take necessary measures to protect Nigerian Christians,” Idah told TruthNigeria.
He noted the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended in its 2026 annual report that Nigeria be designated a Country of Particular Concern.
“Congressman Riley Moore has also stated that Fulani militants have killed more Nigerians than Boko Haram,” Idah said.
The 2023 Umogidi massacre — 51 people killed during a funeral — remains a reference point in US congressional discussions and Genocide Watch documentation.
For the farmers of Ikobi and for the tens of thousands who have already fled — the growing international attention came too late for Ogbewa Audu, Isaac Ada, and David Owoicho Omale, who were buried in the land their families say armed attackers are trying to seize.
Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter. He writes for TruthNigeria.
