On Monday, August 4, 2025, tensions flared between the Igede-speaking communities of Oju and Obi Local Government Areas (LGAs) and their Tiv neighbors in Gwer East and Konshisha LGAs in Benue State, following the killing of two Igede youths, Jonathan Ogah and Gabriel Ogodo, on the Oju-Awajir road. The duo, one recently married, were ambushed and murdered by suspected Tiv youths from Ulam community in Gwer East while traveling on motorcycles from Oju to Makurdi, as reported by Leadership and Legit.ng. The incident has heightened fears, with the busy Oju-Aliade road, under construction, now deserted by travelers, including students from the College of Education, Oju, due to escalating tensions after the victims’ bodies were recovered.
Concurrently, separate attacks by suspected armed herders, allegedly from neighboring Kogi State, targeted Igede communities in Oju LGA, including Okwutanobe, Okpokpolo, Olegagbani, and Ikpele, between Friday, August 1, and Tuesday, August 5, 2025. A local source, speaking anonymously to Vanguard, reported nine deaths, including one police officer in Ikpele on August 5, with four others killed across the other communities. Agatu LGA Chairman James Melvin confirmed the casualties, suggesting the attacks may be reprisals for alleged cattle rustling. The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, noted ongoing deployments but had no further details. These incidents follow a history of Igede-Tiv disputes over farmland, notably between Ukpute (Oju) and Bonta (Konshisha), which led to violent clashes in 1997, 2020–2022, and a 2023 peace accord brokered by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).
Governor Hyacinth Alia condemned both the Ulam killings and a separate attack in Nyifon, Buruku LGA, by Mbayaka youths over a boat mishap, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum on August 4 for security agencies to apprehend perpetrators, per a statement by Chief Press Secretary Tersoo Kula. Alia emphasized Benue’s improving security, with 11,259 hostages rescued by May 2025, and vowed not to tolerate unrest, directing traditional rulers to assist investigations. Senator Abba Moro, representing Benue South, labeled the killings “barbaric” and urged state intervention to resolve the Gwer/Konshisha/Oju crisis, while the Ito Youths Association (ITA) condemned the murders as a threat to fragile peace. X posts from @SaharaReporters on August 5, 2025, noted community fears of reprisals, with calls for federal security reinforcements to curb the violence, which locals partly attribute to herders or militias.
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