By Ayo Kehinde
The Conference of Autochthonous Ethnic Communities Development Associations (CONECDA) Youth Wing has raised fresh concerns over the worsening security situation across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, alleging that more than 700 people were killed and 471,820 others displaced in coordinated attacks across 15 states between January and June 2026.
Presenting its half-year security report in Jos on Thursday, the group claimed the violence had left more than 325 persons injured, over 350 kidnapped, and at least 60 communities sacked within the six months, warning that the continued attacks threaten the survival of indigenous communities in the region.
“Our ancestry is being wiped out,” the group declared, describing the reported attacks as a systematic campaign targeting autochthonous ethnic communities across the Middle Belt and adjoining areas.
Addressing journalists, President of the CONECDA Youth Wing, Comrade Paul Joshua Dekete, alleged that the attacks affected communities in Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Southern Kebbi, Southern Kaduna, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Southern Borno, and Southern Yobe.
According to the report, Plateau and Benue states recorded the highest casualties during the review period, with over 250 deaths each.
The organisation alleged that Plateau recorded about 198 deaths in Bokkos, over 30 in Angwan Rukuba, alongside attacks in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, and Jos South, displacing about 1,820 residents.
In Benue, it claimed that attacks in Guma, Kwande, Logo, Ukum, Apa, and Katsina-Ala claimed over 250 lives and displaced approximately 450,000 persons.
The group also cited the June 13 attack on Yelwata, alleging that about 200 people were killed during the assault.
CONECDA further alleged that Southern Kaduna recorded more than 40 deaths and over 150 kidnappings in Kauru, Kachia, and Kajuru Local Government Areas, including the abduction of a Catholic priest in Karku.
The report also claimed that more than 60 people were killed in attacks linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgents in Madagali and Hong Local Government Areas of Adamawa State.
In Taraba State, the group alleged that over 20 persons were killed in Wukari and Takum, while it claimed that attacks involving bandits, kidnappers, and insurgents in Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Bauchi, Gombe, the FCT, Southern Kebbi, Southern Borno, and Southern Yobe accounted for more than 80 additional deaths.
Rejecting descriptions of the violence as farmer-herder clashes, the youth body alleged that the attacks constituted a deliberate campaign to displace indigenous populations from their ancestral lands.
“This is not herders-farmers conflict. It is a deliberate plan to wipe out indigenous ancestry and occupy our lands, hills, valleys, churches, mosques, and traditional worship places,” Dekete said.
The organisation accused government and security agencies of failing to prevent repeated attacks despite what it described as prior intelligence warnings.
According to the group, its Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System (CEWERS) issued alerts before attacks in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Yelwata, but authorities allegedly failed to act.
It also cited delayed security responses, poor intelligence gathering, inadequate policing in vulnerable communities, and what it described as government inaction, alleging that official responses had been limited to condemnations without meaningful arrests, prosecutions, or adequate humanitarian support for displaced persons.
Among its demands, CONECDA called on the Federal Government to officially declare the attacks as genocide, impose a state of emergency across the affected states, arrest and prosecute alleged perpetrators and sponsors, establish Community Joint Task Force (CJTF) structures from headquarters to ward level in partnership with security agencies, and provide immediate relief and resettlement for the 471,820 internally displaced persons identified in its report.
The group also urged communities to organise lawful self-defence, saying residents could no longer remain vulnerable while awaiting government intervention.
It further warned that traditional rulers allegedly collaborating with attackers would be held accountable.
Issuing a 30-day ultimatum, CONECDA said the Federal Government must act decisively to halt the violence or face sustained peaceful protests across the 15 affected states every “Black Thursday.”
The group maintained that the Middle Belt could no longer endure what it described as an escalating humanitarian and security crisis.
The casualty figures, displacement statistics, and allegations contained in the report are claims made by the CONECDA Youth Wing and have not been independently verified.
Furthermore, the group’s characterization of the attacks as “genocide” reflects its position and has not been determined by any competent judicial or international authority.
