Operation Zafin Wuta: Commander Visits Chanchanji, Boosts Security for Farmers

By Tgnews Reporter 

In a bold show of force amid escalating farmer-herder clashes that have left dozens dead and thousands displaced, Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, Commander of the 6 Brigade Nigerian Army, led a high-stakes confidence-building patrol through terror-gripped villages in southern Taraba on Tuesday.

The mission, under the newly launched Operation Zafin Wuta, aimed to reclaim farmlands from bandit enclaves and shield Tiv farmers from further slaughter as harvest season hangs in the balance.

The visit to the Chanchanji area of Takum Local Government Area came hot on the heels of devastating attacks that razed 47 farming communities, claiming 65 lives; mostly Tiv Christians and injuring 31 others, according to emergency agencies.

Over 6,700 residents, many ethnic Tiv, were uprooted from ancestral homes, with villages like Ayu, Dooshima, New Gboko, Adu Tyopaa, Peeki, and Tyojande now ghost towns haunted by fear of reprisal raids.

Displaced families, huddled at Chanchanji Market Square, poured out their anguish to Uwa, lamenting a bountiful season’s yield rotting in fields they dare not reclaim.

“This year’s farming was productive, but our livelihoods are under siege,” community members told the commander, their voices cracking with desperation.

The raids, blamed on hibernating militia herders, have fueled accusations of military inaction or complicity, with entire communities fleeing into makeshift camps near the 93 Battalion barracks in Takum.

Uwa, visibly moved, wasted no time. Flanked by troops on a “fighting patrol” through flashpoint routes and farmland access points, he issued on-the-spot orders for “adequate security cover” to escort harvesters back to their plots.

Sustained patrols before, during, and after the harvest were greenlit for all ravaged villages, with troops charged to uphold “the highest standards of professionalism, vigilance, and respect for human rights.”

The directive underscores a pivot toward civil-military synergy, critical in a region where bandit boasts of impenetrable mountain hideouts have long mocked security efforts.

Operation Zafin Wuta, rolled out in late November to “flush out” these criminal networks, has already notched wins: bandit camps razed in Shiid, Tor-Tser, Likam Mountain, Agia, and Tyozua; two fighters neutralized; weapons caches seized, including AK-47s and pump-action rifles; and a kidnap kingpin nabbed.

Just days ago, on December 6-7, 6 Brigade troops foiled a highway robbery on the Manya-Takum Road, rescued two Bauchi-bound abductees in Amadu, and busted an arms ring in Ardo Kola, recovering illicit firearms and nabbing suspects.

Fleeing bandits, pushed toward Benue State borders, signal the operation’s momentum, but locals warn that without harvest safeguards, famine could eclipse the violence.

Community leaders hailed Uwa’s intervention as a “beacon of hope,” with many vowing to resume farming under army escort.

“The visit has restored our faith— we’re starting to return,” one elder shared, as children clutched relief packs from the army and Taraba State Emergency Management Agency. Yet, as Yuletide travel ramps up, Uwa reiterated the brigade’s ironclad vow: “No life lost, no farm abandoned. Adamawa to Taraba, we secure all.”

The Nigerian Army, via 6 Brigade, doubled down on its mandate, stressing that “strong civil-military cooperation remains critical to lasting peace.”

Rights groups, however, urge independent probes into the attacks’ ethnic undercurrents, fearing a repeat of past flare-ups that have scarred Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

The operation, blending with Operation Peace Shield and Whirl Stroke, marks a federal escalation against a insurgency that has displaced thousands since 2023.