Benue: Court orders remand of 11 herdsmen for alleged terrorism

A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Makurdi has ordered the remand of 11 cattle rearers at the Makurdi Correctional Centre over allegations of terrorising communities in Benue State.

The accused individuals Nanzir Ishaya, Suleiman Umaru, Yakubu Mallam, Dauda Abdulkarim, Manu Buhari, Haruna Abdulkarim, Ibrahim Mallam, Yunusa Waziri, Idi Usman, Adamu Manu, and Abdullahi Wakili—were arraigned on Thursday.

According to the prosecution, the defendants, who are residents of various locations within Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, face multiple charges including criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of firearms, acts of terrorism, open grazing, and possession of suspected stolen cattle.

The charges stem from ongoing security challenges in parts of Benue State, where armed herders have been linked to violent attacks on local farming communities.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Kelvin Mbanongun, did not take their pleas for want of jurisdiction.

Mbanongun adjourned the matter until July 7, 2025, for further mention.

Earlier, prosecutor Insp. Godwin Ato told the court that on June 1, a team of policemen attached to Operation Zenda at Katsina-Ala received credible information that a group of armed bandits who were allies of a dreaded bandit leader, one Amakaa Akwaza, were sighted in their hideout at Nugu village with arms.

The prosecutor said on receiving the information, a combined team of Operation Zenda and Benue State Civil Protection Guards led by Insp. Donald Ahulu were mobilised to the location of the hideout and engaged the hoodlums in a gun battle.

Ato said the security operatives overpowered the suspected bandits in the fierce gun duel, which resulted in some of the fully armed bandits fleeing, while one AK-47 rifle with breech number 6189 with 16 rounds of live ammunition was recovered from the scene.

He said the security operatives then arrested 10 of the suspected bandits while they were loading cattle suspected to be stolen into a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number TTM 405 XA Taraba, and openly grazing some of the cows on a nearby farm.

The prosecutor said further investigation led to the arrest of the chief of the Fulani community in Katsina-Ala, Wakili, who he said has been working closely with Akwaza in supplying arms to the herdsmen terrorising Benue and its environs.

The prosecutor said their offences contravened sections 6(b) and 3(1) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, 2004; 19 of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of Benue, 2017; and 321 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue, 2004.