Abdullahi Sule fingered in ethnic cleansing

A wave of tension is building in Nasarawa State following serious allegations by a coalition of Tiv leaders who claim the state governor, Abdullahi Sule is orchestrating a campaign of ethnic cleansing and land seizure under the guise of agricultural reform.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, prominent human rights advocate and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jerry Aondo, called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser to urgently intervene before the situation spirals out of control.

“I cannot practise law or sleep well due to the killings of my people,” an emotional Aondo said. “This is not development. It is ethnic persecution masquerading as progress.”

He accused the Nasarawa State government of using the recently introduced Agricultural Mandate Initiative to forcibly displace Tiv communities from their ancestral homes in Awe, Obi, Keana, and Doma Local Government Areas.

Aondo alleged that several government ministries and security agencies were complicit in the ongoing displacements, citing incidents where bulldozers escorted by armed personnel demolished homes, schools, churches, and even cemeteries in villages like Udugh shortly after Governor Abdullahi Sule’s visit on May 4.

“Entire communities have been flattened or marked for destruction. People are now refugees in their own land,” Aondo lamented, listing other affected villages as Utsuwa, Usula, China, Chabo, Wachi, Tyungu, Uvirkaa, Ugba, and Ayarkeke.

He further claimed that women in Osula village were chased off their farmlands by operatives allegedly acting under government instructions, leaving families without shelter, food, or means of livelihood.

“This is calculated suffering,” he said, expressing frustration at the silence of the Nasarawa State government despite several petitions sent to key state officials, including the governor, secretary to the state government, speaker of the House of Assembly, police commissioner, DSS director, and the commissioner for agriculture.

When contacted for comment, Peter Ahemba, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Affairs, said he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

The coalition also accused some traditional rulers of aiding the displacement efforts by refusing to issue indigene certificates to Tiv residents and assisting in dismantling their communities.

Aondo warned that the governor’s actions could escalate into full-blown ethnic unrest. He called on the federal government to urgently investigate Governor Sule’s role, suspend all demolition activities, and deploy security forces to protect displaced Tiv communities.

Citing the recent May 10 burning of Gbaghtar village in Doma LGA by suspected herdsmen, Aondo said the Tiv are under siege and at increasing risk of violence.

He also provided a list of alleged victims killed in Kaambe Jangaru ward in Awe LGA between February and May, including Koforo Toba 1, Mase Terlumun, Bunde Ugah, and Catherine Baadardi. Others named include Alex Adidi, David Ajo, David Girgir, Boyi Adidi, John Iwar, Verlumun Vitali, Benjamin Tilenenge, and Atume Godu.

“The President must act now. These killings and displacements must not be ignored,” he said.