The Bonta village in Konshisha Local Government and the Ukpute community in Oju Local Government Areas of Benue State are experiencing a worsening communal strife.
Over a disputed piece of property, which claimed countless lives and homes, including the lives of 12 military troops on Easter Monday in 2021, the two adjoining towns have been embroiled in a crisis.

On Monday, information surfaced that armed militias from the Bonta village had closed a main route that connected Oju and Makurdi, preventing any member of the Igede tribe from reaching the state capital.

The Oju and Obi Local Government areas are home to the Igede tribe, which is the third largest tribe in Benue State.

The presence of armed militias on the road has “disconnected Igede from other parts of the state,” according to Dr. John Ogi, a senior lecturer at Benue State University, who made this statement to DAILY POST on Tuesday.

Ogi emphasised that it was currently impossible to transport products and services from the Igede territory to other regions of the state.

A “journey of 2 hours from Oju to Makurdi now takes 7 hours,” he emphasised, adding that the only other route from Oju is the severely beheaded Otukpo road.

The lecturer said that in July 2024, the militias had taken control of “two trailers of fertilisers distributed by the federal government to Oju/Obi Federal constituency.”

Recent remarks made by Governor Hyacinth Alia, who insisted that the administration was making every effort to settle the conflict, indicated that there was a semblance of calm in the warring communities.

The state police command was contacted by DAILY POST, but Catherine Sewuese, the police public relations officer, was unable to provide a response.