Idoma Forum Accuses Security Agencies Of Ignoring Intelligence On Otukpo Attack

The Ochetoha K’Idoma Forum Worldwide has urged the federal government to take immediate and decisive action against the wave of killings in Benue South.

It alleged that security agencies ignored advance intelligence that could have prevented the recent killings in Otukpo local government area of the state.

In a statement jointly signed by its president-general, Prof. Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, and secretary-general, Dr Paul Edeh, the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Idoma nation condemned the killing of at least 20 people during coordinated attacks on Akpachi-Ugboju and Otukpo’nobi communities.

The statement, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Benue State governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff, the service chiefs and the international community, described the attacks as another painful reminder of the worsening security crisis in Idomaland.

While expressing “profound grief and a burning sense of outrage,” the forum alleged that the Och’Idoma, His Royal Majesty Dr Elaigwu Odogbo Obagaji, received credible intelligence before the attacks and promptly alerted the relevant security authorities.

According to the organisation, the warning was not acted upon.

“The Och’Idoma received prior intelligence about the planned attack and immediately alerted the relevant security officials. That warning was ignored. The security agencies had actionable information and failed to act on it,” the statement said.

It further alleged that the failure to respond to the intelligence contributed to the loss of lives.

“The blood of every victim is therefore not merely on the hands of the assailants, but also on those who received warning and did nothing,” the forum added.

The organisation said those killed included Onche, Ujah, Adoji, Juliet Ona and Eyum, while Efada Ohepo, Ebedigidi and several others sustained varying degrees of injuries. It added that many residents remain unaccounted for, raising fears that the death toll could increase.

Ochetoha said the tragedy had left many families devastated and stressed that the victims were citizens entitled to the protection of the Nigerian Constitution.

The forum also described as unprecedented the decision by grieving residents to carry the bodies of victims to the palace of the Och’Idoma, noting that, under Idoma tradition, corpses are never taken to the palace of the paramount ruler.

It said the action reflected the depth of public anger and frustration over the recurring attacks.

The organisation maintained that the latest killings were part of a cycle of violence that has affected Benue South for more than a decade despite repeated appeals by community leaders for improved security.

It also criticised what it described as selective enforcement of justice, alleging that following the killing of Fulani leader Alhaji Ardo Risku Mohammed in Ohimini, innocent residents, including elderly persons and local vigilantes, were arrested, while individuals who allegedly issued threats against Idoma communities on social media had not been brought to justice.

The forum further alleged that armed groups were gathering in forests surrounding several communities and warned that fresh attacks could occur if urgent preventive measures were not taken.

Among its demands, Ochetoha called for the immediate deployment of security personnel to forests around vulnerable communities, the arrest and prosecution of individuals accused of issuing threats on social media, the unconditional release of residents and vigilantes detained in connection with the Ohimini incident, an intelligence-led operation to apprehend those responsible for the killings, and emergency relief, shelter and medical assistance for displaced and injured victims.

While emphasising that criminal acts should not be attributed to any ethnic group, the organisation said responsibility for the attacks rested solely with those who carried them out.

It also appealed to Idoma people at home and in the diaspora to remain calm, vigilant and law-abiding, urging them to resist reprisals despite the continued attacks.

The forum called on President Tinubu and the nation’s security leadership to take urgent steps to halt the recurring violence, protect vulnerable communities and restore public confidence in the government’s ability to safeguard lives and property.