By Mike Odeh James, Kaduna
A coalition of 22 civil society organizations has sounded a grave alarm, warning that Nigeria’s Middle Belt is enduring a “campaign of systematic ethnic cleansing” driven by escalating militant violence that threatens to destabilize the region, disrupt the 2027 national elections, and deepen an already looming food crisis.
Speaking at a press briefing at the House of Justice Conference Hall in Kaduna, the Civic Coalition Against Mass Atrocities in the Middle Belt accused the Nigerian government of failing to stem a surge of massacres, abductions, and forced displacements concentrated in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and Southern Kaduna, describing the attacks as a calculated strategy to seize land, manipulate electoral demographics, and erase indigenous communities.
Barr. Gloria Mabaeia Ballason, the coalition’s convener, declared that perpetrators are emptying entire villages and replacing them with imported settlers, a process she described as ethnic cleansing that is reshaping Nigeria’s future.
The Middle Belt accused the Nigerian government of failing to stem a surge of massacres, abductions, and forced displacements concentrated in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and Southern Kaduna, describing the attacks as a calculated strategy to seize land
The coalition’s report reveals that over 20,000 square kilometers of farmland have been forcibly occupied, displacing farming communities and threatening Nigeria’s food security, while the violence appears designed to disenfranchise Middle Belt voters ahead of the 2027 elections, potentially skewing political representation.
In Kaduna State, traditional chiefdoms like Adara have been dismantled and cultural landmarks destroyed, actions the coalition says violate the Rome Statute’s protections against cultural genocide.
Ballason highlighted that the violence is driven by the upcoming national census, with armed groups seizing land to exclude displaced indigenous populations and legitimize territorial claims, as well as the 2027 elections, where community displacements could shift voter demographics to favor aligned political interests.
The coalition also pointed to the Livestock Ministry, perceived as endorsing pastoralist land grabs, as emboldening militant herdsmen. “These attacks are not spontaneous,” Ballason emphasized, describing them as strategic and aimed at rewriting Nigeria’s demographic and political map.
The coalition further warned of spreading violence, noting that emerging militant factions like Lakurawa and Mahmuda are launching attacks in Niger and Kwara States, raising fears of a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe if the crisis is not contained.
These attacks are not spontaneous
Urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act decisively, the coalition demanded coordinated regional security efforts among Middle Belt governors, the deployment of geospatial and drone technology to track attackers, reforms to firearms laws to enable communities to defend themselves, guaranteed voting rights for displaced populations, and the establishment of a Special Crisis Accountability Bureau to prosecute perpetrators.
Ballason stressed that the government must stop treating the crisis as a local conflict, calling it a war on Nigeria’s sovereignty that requires urgent federal intervention.
The world cannot afford to look away
With Nigeria already grappling with Boko Haram in the northeast and separatist tensions in the southeast, the Middle Belt crisis risks further fracturing Africa’s most populous nation, echoing UN concerns over rising food insecurity and potential mass migration if farming communities remain displaced.
“The world cannot afford to look away,” Ballason warned, cautioning that if Nigeria’s breadbasket becomes a killing field, the consequences will ripple far beyond its borders.
The coalition’s statement was endorsed by organizations including House of Justice, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and the Stefanos Foundation.
