New documents have emerged suggesting that part of Agatu Local Government Area (LGA) in Benue State was secretly ceded to Fulani herders in 2017, a move that residents say has fueled decades-long conflicts.
The agreement, reportedly signed on January 6, 2017, allowed herders to use Adapati Island for grazing under strict conditions, including residence restrictions and identity verification for “indigenous Fulani” herders. The process, however, excluded traditional leaders and the local community.
Chief Echechofu Ogwola, head of the Ayele/Igagishu Clan, whose authority covers Adapati land, has disowned the arrangement. Represented by legal firm E-O Samson & Partners, the clan asserts that the agreement is null and void under customary law.
“At no time was our Client, the Adapati community, or any lawful traditional authority consulted before the ceding of communal land,” the firm said. “Any purported agreement without the participation of the landowners is of no legal effect.”
The dispute has contributed to persistent clashes between herders and residents, leading to dozens of deaths, hundreds displaced, and widespread destruction of farms in communities including Aila, Okokolo, Obagaji, Adagbo, Akwu, Odugbehon, and Odejo.
The legal team cited repeated breaches of the 2017 agreement, including unauthorized grazing beyond Adapati Island, destruction of homes, and violent confrontations using firearms and machetes.
Complicating the matter is the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017, which requires a gubernatorial permit for grazing and prohibits herding outside designated ranches—permits which do not exist for Adapati.
The clan has formally demanded the invalidation of the 2017 agreement, the immediate cessation of all grazing activities, and removal of herders and cattle from Adapati within 30 days. Noncompliance, the legal firm warned, will trigger lawsuits and petitions to state authorities.
Agatu LGA Chairman, Melvin Ejeh, has already revoked the 2017 grazing agreement, ordering armed herders to vacate the communities. He described the arrangement, enacted by a former sole administrator, as having been executed in bad faith with adverse consequences for residents.
The renewed attention on Adapati Island underscores the complexity of herder-farmer conflicts in Benue State and the challenges of balancing customary land rights with grazing demands.