Igala land is bleeding. Quietly, painfully, and almost without national attention, the largest ethnic homeland in Kogi State is being emptied.
What started as sporadic attacks on remote farm settlements in Some Local Government has mutated into a full-blown reign of terror. Today, kidnapping, killings, banditry and arson have spread across all nine local government areas that make up Kogi East – Omala, Dekina, Ofu, Igalamela-Odolu, Olamaboro, Ankpa, Idah, Ibaji and Bassa. As it stands today,If urgent, coordinated action is not taken now, we will soon be writing the obituary of a civilization.
THE ANATOMY OF THE CRISIS
Kogi East, about 14,000 square miles in size – more than half of Kogi State’s entire landmass – is geographically vulnerable. It shares porous borders with Benue, Nasarawa and Niger States. As those states have stepped up military operations, fleeing bandits have found safe haven in the vast, ungoverned forests and riverine boundaries between Omala, Ofu,Bassa and Nasarawa.
The pattern is consistent and brutal. The criminals infest forests, farms and villages, slaughtering with savagery, kidnapping for hefty ransoms, and butchering victims even after payment.
In the last six months alone, the situation has escalated dramatically:
Omala remains the epicentre. Villages in Bagana, Ajokpachi Odo, Agojeju-Odo and other border communities have been razed, with thousands displaced and now living as refugees elsewhere in Igala land.. The contagion has spread. Bandits have moved beyond Omala into Dekina, Ofu, Igala-Mela, Olamaboro, Ankpa, parts of Bassa, and Idah. • Travel is a gamble. The major corridors – Anyigba-Itobe-Ajaokuta, Ankpa-Okpo, and Idah-Ajaka-Umomi – have become kidnapping hotspots. Farmers transporting yams to market as well other Travelers are abducted on rural and major roads. In February 2026: Ojuwo-Ubele in Igalamela/Odolu Local Government was attacked – two killed, three abducted in a single raid, sparking mass flight. People of these communities and other nearby settlers for safety sake, abandoned their homes and farm produce.
WHAT DESERTION LOOKS LIKE
This is not just insecurity. It is systematic depopulation.
- Farming has collapsed. The Igala are predominantly agrarian. When a farmer cannot go to his farm for fear of being killed or having his produce destroyed, the food system collapses. Various Discussions on the aggravating security challenges in Igala land, confirmed that destruction of farm produce and killing of cows – both means of livelihood – is the bone of contention driving the cycle of reprisals.
- Livelihoods and families are shattered. Loss of lives, destruction of property and displacement of families is at an alarming rate. Children are out of school. Markets are empty. Young people are migrating to Lokoja, Abuja and Lagos, not for opportunity, but for survival.
- A complex web of criminality., the crisis is no longer just farmer-herder. Criminal youths from Igala/Bassa who don’t own farmland are killing cows as a business, while armed youths hired to rear cattle who don’t own cows have chosen kidnapping and banditry as a business. Porous riverine routes, gaps in early warning and intelligence sharing, and hired armed youths by indigenous settlers have created a perfect storm.
Why Kogi East Is Left Exposed
Benue State has tactical military commands. Kogi West and Central have the Metropolitan Quick Response Team. Kogi East, despite being larger than several states combined, relies on small detachments stationed along federal roads who cannot respond to attacks deep in rural areas. The recent patrols by the Nigerian Army’s 12 Brigade from Lokoja are a glimmer of hope, but grossly inadequate for 14,000 square miles.
The result: victims are left to their fate, with families forced to pay ransoms they can ill afford.
WHAT MUST BE DONE
Both FEDERAL and STATE GOVERNMENT:
- Establish Forward Operating Bases (FOBs): Kogi East needs at least three to four well-equipped military bases – in Omala, Bassa/Dekina axis, Ankpa/Olamaboro axis, and Idah/Ibaji – not just patrols from Lokoja.
- A Kogi East Security Architecture: As resolved, create a structured architecture with two dedicated distress lines to close the intelligence gap, plus joint patrols and rapid response posts in vulnerable communities.
- Reclaim and Resettle: Government must fund SEMA, NEMA and NGOs to provide relief and decisively reclaim occupied farming territories so displaced farmers can return.
For Traditional Institution:
Traditional rulers, Gagos and family heads must wake up to their responsibilities. No more sacred cows – Fulani or Igala, culprits must face the law. Every ward should have a joint herder-farmer peace committee and Fulani settlers must be incorporated into local security to jointly fight criminality.
For Us, the Igala People:
We must commit to sharing timely, accurate information with security agencies and desist from reprisal attacks. Silence and ethnic profiling will only feed the bandits.
CONCLUSION
Igala land is one of Nigeria’s oldest kingdoms, a land of rich culture, intellect and commerce. It is the anchor of Kogi State. If Igala land falls, Kogi State falls.
We cannot afford political bitterness or media silence while villages are burnt and our people become refugees in their own ancestral land. The state government cannot afford to confine its Quick Response Team to protecting elites while the rural heartlands die.
We either act now – with military bases, intelligence, justice and sincere dialogue – or we will watch helplessly as Igala land is deserted, farm by farm, village by village.
– Amb. Ahmed Suleiman (MAS) writes from Etutekpe/Iyale Ward
