LAFIA — As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu visits Nasarawa State today, Wednesday, June 26, 2025, to commission key infrastructure projects executed by Governor Abdullahi Sule, the Tiv Youth Organisation (TYO) has made a fervent appeal for presidential intervention in the ongoing violence, killings, and land-grabbing reportedly targeting Tiv communities in the state.
The youth body, in a statement released hours before the President’s arrival in Lafia, lamented what it described as a “silent humanitarian crisis” facing Tiv residents across Nasarawa’s southern and border communities. They allege that dozens have been killed, homes destroyed, and ancestral lands taken over by armed groups in recent months without significant state action.
According to the TYO, efforts to draw the attention of state authorities and security agencies have yielded little results, leaving vulnerable communities to fend for themselves amid repeated attacks.
“We welcome Mr. President to Nasarawa, but we cannot keep silent while our people are being killed and displaced. We are pleading with President Tinubu to use his visit as an opportunity to listen to our cries and bring lasting peace to the Tiv people in Nasarawa State,” the statement read.
The group also called on Governor Sule to take more decisive actions to protect all citizens regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation, stressing that the security situation in affected local government areas such as Doma, Keffi, Obi, and Lafia remains precarious.
While security agencies have acknowledged isolated incidents of communal unrest in parts of the state, there has been no formal response from the government regarding the latest claims by the Tiv Youth Organisation as of press time.
President Tinubu’s visit comes at a time of heightened national focus on rural security and community tensions, particularly in agrarian regions affected by farmer-herder conflicts and disputes over land ownership.
Meanwhile, residents in Lafia gathered in large numbers to welcome the President, who is expected to inaugurate several landmark projects, including roads, hospitals, and schools, as part of Governor Sule’s developmental agenda.
The Tiv Youth Organisation concluded its appeal by urging the President to initiate a federal inquiry into the violence and facilitate humanitarian support for displaced persons.