By Ijeoma Obioma
In a strong security alert issued Saturday, the Forum of Ayatutu Professors (FAP) has called for the immediate mobilisation of Tiv communities to safeguard their ancestral land amid escalating violence and insecurity in Benue State.
The urgent call followed an emergency meeting where FAP declared that Tiv survival is under severe threat from sustained armed attacks.
The professors warned of what they described as a deliberate campaign to seize land, destabilise local economies, undermine cultural identity, and exploit mineral-rich areas.
“The time for waiting is over,our survival is at stake,” the Forum said in a statement issued in Makurdi and signed by Prof. Tor Joe Iorapuu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees & Council of Management, and Prof. Simon Verlumun Irtwange, Secretary.
FAP criticised the failure of security agencies and all levels of government to respond effectively to the crisis.
“Our people are being slaughtered, displaced, and dishonoured, yet those charged with our protection remain passive or compromised,” the FAP noted.
The professors called for a proactive, community-driven security strategy, rooted in lawful self-help, unity, and vigilance.
They emphasised that Tiv communities must take responsibility for securing their territory, warning that continued reliance on ineffective state responses could prove fatal.
“We must now organise ourselves to defend our land and our children’s future. We can no longer allow selfish politicians and complicit traditional rulers to sell our birthright,” FAP stressed.
Edited by Dada Ahmed
