MAKURDI, BENIN/ABUJA — Tension has flared across the southern districts of Benue State following reports that armed Fulani herdsmen have occupied a vast section of the Adiga Forest in Idoma Land and defiantly renamed it “Sambisa Forest.”
The provocative naming of the zone—evoking the infamous jihadist stronghold of the northeast—marks a severe escalation in regional anxiety as local communities warn of an entrenched, fortified criminal enclave taking root at their doorsteps.
The Border Contestation: Ado and Okpokwu Under Threat
According to reports verified by local vigilante networks and community youth leaders, the newly designated territory spans the strategic border corridors connecting Ado Local Government Area and Okpokwu Local Government Area.
The Adiga Forest axis has historically served as an agricultural hub for local Idoma farmers. However, the systematic influx of heavily armed pastoralists has transformed the zone into a restricted, high-risk perimeter:
- Tactical Encampments: Displaced villagers fleeing the border communities report that the occupiers have set up semi-permanent operational bases within the thick foliage, mirroring the territorial control tactics used by bandit syndicates in northwestern forests.
- The Representative Context: The affected border zone sits directly within the federal constituency represented by Honorable Philip Agbese—the lawmaker currently embroiled in an intense National Assembly controversy after CCTV footage exposed him signing a leadership endorsement list despite his public forgery claims. Local stakeholders note that while political actors fight over offices in Abuja, their constituents are losing physical control of their ancestral lands.
Public Fury Boils Over Tinubu’s Tenure
The territorial annexation has injected fresh volatility into the ongoing national debate regarding the complete collapse of internal security under the current federal administration. Across regional social networks and community assemblies, citizens are expressing deep panic over what they characterize as an unchecked expansion of armed non-state actors.
“And this is only the first tenure of the worst government Nigeria has ever seen,” a prominent regional commentator stated in a widely shared assessment of the forest occupation. “Now sit calmly and ask yourself what will become of this government’s second tenure.”
Critics maintain that the presidency’s insular, Lagos-centric command structure—characterized by former federal lawmaker Hon. Nnenna Ukeje as a “Lagos cabal monopoly”—is profoundly unequipped or unwilling to confront the unique guerrilla tactics deployed by armed herdsmen in the Middle Belt.
The public cynicism has been further deepened by recent shocking live video transmissions from bandit kingpins boasting of receiving major funding from insider state actors, alongside the viral spectacle of online “wonderkids” flaunting massive ransom proceeds on platforms like TikTok while state intelligence agencies remain inactive.
Communities Mobilize Amid Institutional Failure
With the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) sustaining empty classrooms and mothers raining heavy curses on the political elite over unresolved school abductions, the Idoma community has reached a breaking point. Local hunters and the Benue State Volunteer Guard are reportedly expanding their intelligence patrols along the fringes of the Adiga Forest, despite receiving zero logistical reinforcement from the federal military high command.
Traditional rulers within Ado and Okpokwu have issued an urgent memorandum to the state government, warning that if the central security architecture fails to launch an immediate tactical clearance operation to reclaim the forest from its newly named “Sambisa” occupiers, local youth will have no choice but to engage in a full-scale armed resistance to protect their borders.
