The Ayatutu Cultural and Social Development Initiative, AYACASODI, has accused the Taraba State government of orchestrating a fresh wave of ethnic cleansing under the guise of establishing a Military Forward Operating Base, FOB, in Wukari local government council.
The group raised the alarm on Friday, in a statement, condemning what it described as a renewed attempt to displace Tiv communities from their ancestral lands.
In the statement, the national President of the group, Chief Timothy Baaki said the recent decision by a high level government delegation to allocate 150 hectares each in the Tiv-dominated communities of Ikyaior and Jandekyula for the proposed military base amounts to a deliberate strategy to dispossess the people.
“The Tiv people of Taraba are not opposed to military infrastructure aimed at enhancing security.
“However, the allocation of 300 hectares of fertile land in our ancestral communities is excessive, suspicious, and points to a calculated attempt to evict us under the cover of national security,” Baaki stated.
The move follows an earlier widely opposed effort in 2024 and early 2025.
AYACASODI claimed the new push, led by state officials during a visit on September 27, 2025, marks a dangerous escalation.
Citing past experiences, the group accused the military of siding one of the ethnic groups during the protracted crisis.
It also alleged that military deployments during the conflict were used to prevent displaced Tiv residents from returning to their homes, particularly in communities like Tor-Iorshagher, Tor-Musa, Kyernum, Zegeate, and Tse-Daa in Wukari, as well as Ibua, Danwanzan, Gidinwaya, and Gidan-Gboko in Ibi LGA.
“With only Ikyaior and Jandekyula remaining intact among Tiv communities in Wukari, this new move appears aimed at completing the ethnic cleansing agenda,” the group warned.
AYACASODI further claimed that since the escalation of violence in April 2019, over 320 Tiv villages in Taraba have been destroyed, with more than 280 villages still deserted and over 280,000 Tiv people living as internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the state.
Instead of prioritizing the return and rehabilitation of the displaced, the group says the government is bent on seizing more land, deepening the crisis.
The organization called on the Defence Headquarters and other military authorities to immediately suspend the proposed land acquisition and ensure the military is not used as a tool for ethnic and political agendas.
They also urged the federal government and relevant agencies to intervene and caution governor Agbu Kefas against “weaponizing state power for ethnic domination.”
AYACASODI demanded that Tiv leaders be fully involved in any land discussions related to military operations in their communities and called for urgent humanitarian support for displaced Tiv populations.
“The survival, identity, and dignity of the Tiv people are under direct threat. This must stop,” the group concluded.
