A Nigerian lawyer, Franc Utoo, has alleged that soldiers from Giza community in Nasarawa State were involved in training and leading Fulani militias responsible for coordinated attacks on Tiv communities in parts of Benue and Nasarawa states.
Utoo made the claims during an interview with Precious Onuabuchi on BusinessDay, where he gave an account of how attackers operated with military-style tactics, suggesting state complicity in the ongoing violence that has left dozens dead and displaced scores.
He said a suspect arrested during one of the attacks confessed that some of the soldiers not only trained the attackers but also coordinated the attack that left several Tiv villages completely overrun and occupied.
“And let me tell you, let me also shock you; about seven soldiers joined them from Giza, the community adjoining my own village,” Utoo said.
“They arrested one who uttered all this, made this confession. He said some of the soldiers from Giza trained them in Fulani stuff. And they joined them. They command the whole thing.”
According to Utoo, the attackers stormed communities on more than 100 motorcycles in broad daylight, killing residents and occupying their homes. He said the operation showed signs of tactical planning and military precision.
“So what they did yesterday was extremely tactical. And strategic with military precision. Right now, there are a lot of Tiv villages in my council ward that have been taken over by Fulanis. They take over not just for grazing, but for proper settlement,” he said.
“You go to these villages today, you find even their kids crawling. Small kids who are yet to start walking.
“They brought them, you know, their families occupying Tiv homes, Tiv houses, which are still standing, occupying those houses. And they have their kids there, not just their cattle.”
Utoo also expressed frustration over the failure of security agencies to act on local intelligence about looming attacks.
“Many of my friends from the adjoining villages in the North Central states who are of different ethnic groups other than Fulani, anytime the Fulanis are mobilising like this attack, they told us day before yesterday, ‘We communicated to the security forces nothing has been done.’”
He said militia groups now operate openly in areas like Giza and Kadorko, holding meetings in public and brandishing weapons before launching attacks.
“This is no longer secret; it’s just like the secret cultism in Nigeria they got out with their Ak-47 in a community called Giza in Nasarawa state in the boundary between Nasarawa and Benue states in Giza and Kadorko. All our friends from there told us and they come out in the open with their Ak-47, they hold meeting openly. You know they are going to strike and some people begin to bid their farewell, may God take you safely,” he said.
