As the harmattan blew in the once-peaceful Bonta and Ukpute communities in Oju, and Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue state in December of 2024, residents were in despair, wearing long faces and were unsure of the next minute as the long-standing land dispute between the two communities escalated into a devastating communal clash, leaving over 20 persons dead, injured, and properties worth millions of Naira, allegedly shattered.
What began as a disagreement over land demarcation territorial boundaries many years ago spiraled into an incessant crisis, claiming lives and properties every other day.
The Bonta-Ukpute communal clash is said to have started in 1986, with several unsuccessful efforts at brokering peace between the two communities, both by individuals, organisations and governments. While it lasts, vulnerable residents continue to suffer the brunt of the ageing crisis.
The latest escalation pushed more residents from both communities into a severe humanitarian crisis, although a few of the resistance had barely recovered from the similar recurrence of 2021.
A visit to both Ukpute and Bonta communities reveals several destructions to social amenities like the RCM Primary School Bonta, LGEA Primary School Ukpute, Bethesda Hospital Ukpute, Mbatoor Secondary School Bonta and sources of water.
Family Torn Apart
Patience Adagba, a 32-year-old farmer and food trader from the Ukpute community, left home in June 2023 to take her children to school while her husband, Mr. Adagba, went to the farm. By the time she returned, chaos had engulfed her community—her husband had been murdered on his farmland.
“That fateful morning, my children had said goodbye to their father, expecting to see him in the afternoon when he would return from the farm with foodstuffs. But they never got that chance,” she sobbed.
Seven months later, Patience still struggles to explain to her children why their father has not returned from the farm.
“The youngest, 8 years old, keeps asking about his father. Each time he does, I feel more heartbroken knowing they will grow up without a father because of a crisis that could have been avoided,” she said.
A Lifetime of Work Reduced to Rubble
Pa. Ajogo Iseac, a 72-year-old retired civil servant, lost his house, farmland which is worth about 3.5 million, and several other social amenities that were a succour to him and his community in Ukpute.
“It all started with a simple argument over farmland during the planting season in June. One of our sons went to clear his land but was confronted by someone from Bonta. They couldn’t reach an agreement, and the conflict escalated,” he explained.
The most painful moment for Pa. Ajogo was watching his four-bedroom house – a 15 million investment he made with his proceeds after over 30 years as a civil servant.
He and his family now live in a refugee camp. “I spent my entire life saving to build my house and invest in agriculture. Both are gone. My children and I are sleeping in a structure that isn’t ours and could be driven away anytime.
Displaced and Forgotten
Erdoo Nyashima, 27, and her husband fled the Bonta community with their three children, taking shelter in an abandoned classroom at RCM Primary School Bature. Their home was destroyed, and her children haven’t been in school for months.
“My greatest pain is that my children have missed two school terms. Even if we were asked to return today, we have nothing to go back to,” she lamented.
Like many other displaced families, Erdoo feels abandoned by the government.
“We’ve received no aid. The government acts as if we don’t exist.” Erdoo said
Akaakegh Jacob, 47, faces a similar fate as Erdoo. While he stays in a makeshift home, his wife and children now have a temporary home which has been provided by strangers in the Awajir community, which is safer than the crisis-taken-over Bonta.
His farm, the only source of income, was destroyed, leaving him unable to enrol his children in a new school.
“I can’t afford to send them back to school because I have no livelihood. The crisis wiped out my house, the farm produce stored, and my farmland; even my orange plantation was burnt down.”
Crisis Contributing to Food Insecurity
The situation in Bonta and Ukpute is not isolated. Across Nigeria, especially in the North-Central region, ongoing conflicts have led to widespread food insecurity.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that in 2022 alone, over 15 million Nigerians were facing food insecurity, with the highest numbers in conflict-prone areas like Benue, Kogi, and Plateau states.
In Benue State, where both Bonta and Ukpute are located, the prevalence of food insecurity has reached alarming levels due to the combined effects of violence, displacement, and disrupted agricultural activities.
According to a 2023 report by the International Crisis Group, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Middle Belt, which includes the states of Benue, Nasarawa, and Kogi, had risen to over 2.5 million by mid-2023.
This displacement is directly tied to communal clashes, including the Bonta-Ukpute conflict, which has rendered farming impossible in many affected areas. With crops destroyed, livestock lost, and farmland inaccessible, families are left with little or no means of sustenance.
For instance, Rebecca Ate, a 35-year-old mother of four, had to halt her business due to the crisis. “Since June, I have not been able to go to the market or visit my farm.
“Even the farm where I planted cassava and yam was destroyed. The crisis affected me deeply,” she said.
Rebecca’s situation mirrors that of many farmers in Benue, whose livelihoods have been destroyed by violence.
In addition to the personal toll, the broader economic impact is profound. A 2022 study by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) found that food prices in conflict-affected regions of Nigeria have increased by as much as 45% in the past five years, exacerbating the challenges faced by displaced families.
In Benue, where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, disruptions to farming have led to a reduction in local food production, making basic commodities scarce and pushing prices beyond the reach of many residents.
In 2024, Oga Edugbeke, 65, a farmer from the Ukpute community who is the father of 4 from the Ukpute community who has always believed in the fortune that existed in the practice of agriculture, took N500,000 from Lapo to cultivate a two-hectare cassava farm, hoping to pay it back after the harvest.
He explained that the crisis had taken over the farm, and the area burnt down.
“For now, I can’t even take the risk of visiting the farm to see the extent of the damage, but my brother, who recently managed to visit his farm close to mine, stated that the whole area had been destroyed. How to repay my loan is a big problem for me.
I can’t tell them the crisis has taken the money away. I must find a way to make the payment,” Oga Said
A Crisis Decades in the Making
The conflict between Bonta and Ukpute has simmered for decades, dating back to 1987. Despite repeated pleas through letters sent to the office of the governor and his deputy, government officials have failed to demarcate the land, fueling cycles of violence.
“We’ve made efforts to speak with the government and sent countless letters to the Benue State government, but there’s been no response.
“Even when the new administration came into office, we sent reminders but no response,” said Mike Ube, a youth leader in the Ukpute community.
However, the governor of Benue State, Governor Hycienth Alia, in September 2024, claimed there was peace between the communities and that the road connecting the two local governments remained open. On arrival at these two communities.
However, this reporter felt the tension as he had to be led out of danger zones, and the Oju-Awaji road connecting the two local governments was impassable.
The lack of decisive measures by the Benue state successive government to arrest this incessant crisis has fueled community-centred armed groups. In 2021, a local militia known as the “Bonta Boys” emerged, carrying out violent attacks.
In April of that year, these Bonta boys killed 11 soldiers, including a captain who was in the Konshisha local government, to quell the crisis.
According to a 2021 report by The Trusted Advisors, a Nigerian law firm, land disputes in Nigeria are frequently fueled by unclear ownership claims, boundary encroachments, inheritance disputes, and illegal land sales.
Security Presence: Reality vs. Official Claims
One of the key structures destroyed in Ukpute was the police outpost. According to Mike Ube, the community’s youth leader, security personnel were deployed for only a few days before leaving.
He noted that no concrete reason was provided, Also, the youth leader of Bonta Community noted that the police officers who visited the community during the crisis left after a few days without arresting the situation.
“They were sent without proper accommodation or food, so they left,” he said.
Akaakegh Titus, a youth leader in Bonta, confirmed that the police withdrew within three days.
However, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer Sewuese Anene insisted that security forces had been deployed since June. She admitted, however, that she was unaware of their withdrawal.
Government Neglect and Denial
The Information Officer of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BENSEMA), Tema Ager, claimed that the state governor resolved the crisis between the two communities.
According to him, the displaced people have returned to their homes.
He further noted that he was not aware of any crisis in Bonta currently, as his office has been responding to emergency issues in the state for the past months.
According to him, an inquiry will be sent to the office responsible for relating. He had yet to send any information before this report was filed.
A letter was submitted to the office of the Deputy Governor in Benue State on January 17, 2025, to learn about the government’s efforts to demarcate the land and end the dispute, but it was not responded to at the time of this report.
At a meeting convened by the Deputy Governor of Benue State to resolve the crisis, Mike Ubeh, the youth leader of Ukpute, noted that the deputy governor had expressed the state government’s commitment to demarcating the land by all necessary means.
He also mentioned that the deputy governor had planned to invite a team from the Federal Boundary Commission if state boundary officials failed to carry out the exercise.
However, Mike stated that none of these promises had been fulfilled, as no official from the federal agency had visited the area since the meeting in 2024.
The Call for Peace and Demarcation
The calls for peace remain consistent across both the Orange-field village of Bonta to the Agrarian Ukpute community. They have continued to ask the government to initiate the demarcation of the boundary, which will stop the recurrence of the disagreement.
Benue victims of communal clash
For Joseph Agbaga, 66, the community leader of Ukpute, fighting has no gains, and there is a need for everlasting peace in the communities, which can be facilitated by the demarcation of boundaries.
“The fighting has been painful. Every time this happens, the communities continue to lose beyond imagination. Look at how the houses and key infrastructures in the communities have been destroyed. It is painful. The government should show the boundary with a clear demarcation,” he said.
Erdoo, whose house was reduced to debris, noted that the only disagreement that has existed between the communities has been the issue of pieces of land.
“The government should act fast and demarcate the land; we can’t keep fighting,” she said.
She spoke in the same line with Thankgod Aja, 32, a mother of four who has endured the harsh weather since her home was destroyed.
The President of the Igede Youth Council, Iji Egbodo, who has been part of different efforts made by the association to calm the unrest in the communities, expressed frustration with the government’s lackadaisical approach in responding to the unrest, which started in July 2024.
Iji stated that they had met with various government functionaries to ease the tensions in the area, but their efforts had proven abortive.
He further called on the government to expedite steps in demarcating the area of dispute and reestablishing the boundary, which he says is key to lasting peace in the area.
Akaakegh Titus, a youth leader in Bonta, also called for speedy efforts by the government in addressing the issue, which had led to the loss of several lives in both communities.
He noted that they have lived like one family in past, which has encouraged development.
This report is produced with support from Civic Media Lab
