A fresh wave of tension is sweeping across Nasarawa State as a coalition of Tiv leaders accuses the state government of masterminding a campaign of ethnic cleansing and land seizure disguised as agricultural development.

Addressing the media in Abuja yesterday, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Jerry Aondo issued a passionate plea on behalf of Tiv communities, calling on President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser (NSA) to intervene before the situation escalates into a full-blown crisis.

Aondo, visibly emotional, declared: “I cannot practise law or sleep well due to the killings of my people.”

He described the alleged state-backed initiative as a “systematic land grab and identity erasure” targeting Tiv populations in Awe, Obi, Keana, and Doma Local Councils.

According to him, the Agricultural Mandate Initiative, introduced by the Nasarawa State government, is being used as a cover to forcibly eject Tiv indigenes from their ancestral lands.

“This is not development. It is ethnic persecution masquerading as progress,” he stated.

He further alleged that security agencies, alongside certain ministries, are working in concert with the state government to execute these displacements.

“Bulldozers rolled into Udugh village under armed escort after Governor Sule’s visit on May 4. Homes, schools, churches—even graveyards—were demolished,” Aondo said.

He listed dozens of affected villages, including Udugh, Utsuwa, Usula, China, Chabo, Wachi, Tyungu, Uvirkaa, Ugba, and Ayarkeke.

“Entire communities have been flattened or marked for destruction. People are now refugees in their own land,” he lamented.

Aondo disclosed that women in Osula village were driven off their farmlands by operatives allegedly acting on state instructions, leaving families without food or livelihood.

“It is calculated suffering,” he said.

He decried the silence of the Nasarawa State government despite repeated petitions sent to the Governor, Secretary to the State Government, Speaker of the State Assembly, Police Commissioner, Department of State Services (DSS), and Commissioner for Agriculture.

Meanwhile, Peter Ahemba, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule on Public Affairs, when contacted, said he is not authorised to comment on the matter.

The Tiv coalition also accused some traditional rulers of complicity, alleging that certain chiefs were denying Tiv residents indigene certificates and aiding the dismantling of their settlements.

“The governor’s actions are deepening divisions and may spark widespread ethnic unrest,” Aondo warned.

He urged President Tinubu and the NSA to investigate Governor Sule’s role urgently, halt the demolitions, and deploy security forces to safeguard displaced communities.

Citing the recent burning of Gbaghtar village in Doma Local Council by suspected herdsmen on May 10, the coalition warned that Tiv communities are under siege and the threat of violence is growing by the day.

Some of the persons allegedly killed in Kaambe Jangaru ward in Awe Local Council between February and May include Koforo Toba 1, Mase Terlumun, Bunde Ugah, and Catherine Baadardi.

Other alleged victims of the communal clash include Alex Adidi, David Ajo, David Girgir, Boyi Adidi, John Iwar, Verlumun Vitali, Benjamin Tilenenge, and Atume Godu.