By Mike Odeh James, Luka Binniyat Vom Plateau
The serene landscape of Plateau State, often likened to San Francisco for its cool climate, belies a harsh reality. Armed Fulani militants have been terrorizing farmers, killing scores, and annexing lands in this agricultural powerhouse.
“Our people are leaving their farms in fear,” farmer Sylvanus Dung told TruthNigeria. “Every harvest season, Fulani terrorists invade at night with cattle. By morning, everything is gone.”
The Fulani tribe, claiming up to 20 million members in Nigeria alone, is one of Nigeria’s largest ethnicities. Sylvanus says families in the three main Vom towns are abandoning both their lands and their livelihoods.
When we go to the police, there is no help. If we confront the herders, they threaten us with machetes—or worse, death
“When we go to the police, there is no help. If we confront the herders, they threaten us with machetes—or worse, death,” he went on to say.
In recent years, Armed Fulani militants (FEM) have overrun farmlands, killed scores of farmers, and taken over 150 Christian communities in this Northcentral Nigerian state, TruthNigeria has learned.
Speaking to TruthNigeria, Reuben Buhari, a spokesman for Middle Belt Concerns, said that these attacks and annexation of land encompass most of Plateau state.
More than 151 communities with settlement and farming fields covering an estimated area of 2,000 square miles in Plateau state alone had been annexed since the turn of the 21st Century by Fulani terrorists, according to Buhari.
Our people are leaving their farms in fear
The alarm over Fulani militant expansionism in Nigeria’s Middle Belt was underscored again when a coalition of Plateau State Indigenous Youths held a press conference on May 27, 2024. At the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, representatives from the Atakar, Berom, Irigwe, Mwagavwul, and Ron Youths Associations raised urgent concerns over the systematic occupation of ancestral hamlets, villages, and communities by armed Fulani gangs.
Citing a lack of meaningful government response, the coalition alleged that more than 151 communities across Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Bokkos, Mangu, and Riyom LGAs have been forcibly taken over.
Vom lies roughly 99 miles northeast of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and just 18 miles southwest of Jos. The town sits on the Jos Plateau, home to the Berom ethnic group—predominantly Christian, with most adherents belonging to the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) or the Roman Catholic Church.
Every harvest season, Fulani terrorists invade at night with cattle. By morning, everything is gone
The Berom are primarily farmers, cultivating Irish potatoes, acha (known as “hot rice”), carrots, rice, and cowpea. With a population of about 300,000, Vom has long been a critical agricultural hub in the region. Now, that identity is under threat.
In Vom, a Berom ethnic area in Jos South County, Plateau State, scores have been killed, thousands displaced, and communities taken over by Fulani Ethnic Militia since 2019, according to several sources.
The traditional ruler of Vom, Da Gyang Balak, whose domain includes Chugwi, Vwang, and Fwil districts, told TruthNigeria that Fulani ethnic militias have taken over large tracts of Berom ancestral land, threatening local farmers and preventing them from cultivating their fields during the critical rainy season.
Thousands of our people—mostly farmers and hunters—have been forced to flee
“Thousands of our people—mostly farmers and hunters—have been forced to flee,” Da Gyang said. “They are now squatting with relatives elsewhere in the state, living in despair.”
The tribal leader added that the occupied territories stretch to the borders of Bassa South, Ganawuri, Gashi, and Ryom counties. According to him, the violent encroachment began in 2019 and has intensified with little to no government intervention.
Residents say the occupation is aimed at bankrupting the Berom Christian farmers. After that, they will be forced to vacate their phenomenally rich farmland.
Another farmer, Daniel Sharin, a father of three and livestock owner, said he borrowed over N20 million ($133,000 dollars) naira in 2024 to expand his potatoes and acha farm. Just before harvest, he arrived at his farm to find over 30 armed Fulani herders grazing their cattle on his crops.
When I confronted them, five of them cocked their AK-47s with some brandishing machetes at me
“When I confronted them, five of them cocked their AK-47s with some brandishing machetes at me,” Sharin said. “I left and called the police, but police were too afraid to react. The pattern of destruction has pushed Vom to the brink. As food production collapses, locals warn of widespread hunger and economic ruin. So far, there has been no meaningful response from state or federal authorities on the crisis.
The President of Gwan Development Association, Jonah Choji Gwanu, told TruthNigeria that apart from frustrating farmers, the terrorists also frustrated
All sources gotten from TruthNigeria
