AYDM warns of renewed Jihad agenda in Middle Belt, urges Tinubu to take immediate action
The Alliance of Yoruba Democratic Movement (AYDM) has raised alarm over the escalating violence in Benue State and the wider Middle Belt region, describing it as a deliberate attempt to revive the 1804 Fulani-led Jihad.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the group called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene and halt what it termed a growing campaign of carnage and territorial conquest in Benue and surrounding areas.
AYDM announced plans to visit Benue at the end of June in a show of solidarity, stating that the people of the South West stand firmly with the Middle Belt.
According to the group, at least 50 Yoruba residents in the region have been killed in extremist attacks, underlining a shared fate between communities in the South West and the Middle Belt.
Signed by its General Secretary, Popoola Ajayi, the statement warned that the attacks are part of a broader strategy to weaken resistance in Benue and Plateau States as a prelude to advancing further south.
AYDM, a coalition of over 130 Pan-Yoruba and Itsekiri organisations, asserted that a section of Fulani elites are exploiting the current political landscape — particularly the absence of a Fulani president — to push Nigeria toward conflict.
Ajayi said that armed herdsmen have now entrenched themselves in forests and rural communities across the country, ready to strike. He described the situation as a looming national disaster, with violence spreading to the South East, South West, and other parts of the North Central region.
The group strongly condemned the recent massacre of over 200 people in Yelewata, Guma LGA, Benue State between June 13 and 14, 2025, calling it one of the worst atrocities yet.
AYDM attributed the killings to a “well-funded network of Fulani militias” operating under various labels — including Marmuda, Lakurawa, herdsmen, and bandits. It accused the group of waging a psychological and physical war through tactics such as kidnapping, robbery, organ trade, and land occupation.
Ajayi alleged that since 2015, communities in Nasarawa, Plateau, and Benue — including Agatu, Logo, Katsina-Ala, and Gwer East and West — have suffered relentless attacks.
“Over 4,000 lives have been lost, properties worth billions destroyed, entire villages overrun, and indigenous people forcibly displaced from their ancestral lands,” he said.
The group further warned that the increasing brazenness of the militias is deeply tied to political maneuvering ahead of the 2027 general elections, accusing certain power blocs of weaponising violence for electoral and territorial gains.
“President Tinubu must move beyond mere rhetoric and take decisive action. The time to act is now — before the country descends into further chaos,” Ajayi stated.
While expressing condolences to the victims’ families in Yelewata and other affected areas, the group urged Nigerian security agencies to go after both local collaborators and international sponsors of these terror networks.
AYDM demanded a full investigation and prosecution of all those aiding and abetting the violence.
The statement concluded with a powerful appeal for the immediate restructuring of Nigeria. The group urged President Tinubu and the National Assembly to begin urgent reforms aimed at achieving true federalism.
“Only a restructured Nigeria — where regions control their resources, defend their territories, and govern in line with their values — can bring lasting peace, justice, and national cohesion,” the statement read.
