Benue Ranching Rejected: NKST Church Says 5,987 Members Killed, 753 Churches Destroyed, Asks Why Benue Is Used as "Government Laboratory"

Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.

The Universal Reformed Christian Church, popularly known as the NKST Church, has firmly rejected the Federal Government's proposed pilot ranching programme in Benue State, citing the devastating loss of 5,987 of its members and the destruction of 753 worship centres in attacks blamed on armed herdsmen. The church's position, articulated in a statement by the General Secretary of its Synod Executive Committee, Rev. Ta Targba, comes as a direct challenge to the government's livestock reform agenda, which has identified Benue as a pilot state for the initiative. Rev. Targba acknowledged the government's efforts to find a lasting solution to the recurrent farmers-herders conflict but argued that the priority should be the protection, restoration and resettlement of communities displaced by years of violence.

The church's rejection of the ranching scheme is rooted in the profound suffering its members have endured. "Over 5,987 of our members have been killed; 753 of our worship centres were destroyed by these marauders," Rev. Targba stated. He stressed that these are not abstract statistics but represent fathers, mothers, children, pastors, and community leaders whose lives have been cut short. Behind every closed church, he said, is a congregation prevented from worshipping, and behind every abandoned village is a community deprived of its ancestral home and livelihood. The church's opposition is informed by the direct and severe impact of the prolonged security crisis on its members and institutions across Benue and neighbouring states.

Rev. Targba questioned the rationale behind selecting Benue as a pilot state for a ranching programme, given the extensive displacement and destruction the state has suffered. "Why should a state whose people have suffered displacement and destruction because of violent conflict now be selected as a laboratory for a policy involving land allocation for the same livestock economy that has been at the centre of these conflicts?" he asked. He insisted that the answer cannot be merely administrative, and that the people of Benue deserve to be heard. The church argued that Benue is not merely a geographical space available for government experimentation but an agrarian society where land is the ancestral inheritance and economic foundation of millions.

The NKST Church called on the Federal Government to make the restoration and resettlement of displaced communities the foundation of any agricultural intervention in Benue State. It demanded adequate security to guarantee the safe and voluntary return of displaced persons and urged the reconstruction of homes, schools, healthcare centres, markets, roads, water systems and churches destroyed during the violence. The church further called for a comprehensive inventory of destroyed public and faith-based institutions in affected communities and insisted that no ranch should be established on land belonging to communities whose inhabitants had been violently displaced. While reiterating its commitment to peace and reconciliation, the church urged the Federal Government to reconsider the ranching plan and focus on its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property.

The NKST's rejection of the ranching scheme is a significant development in the ongoing debate over the Federal Government's livestock reform agenda. The church's position reflects the deep-seated grievances of communities that have borne the brunt of the herders-farmers crisis, and its call for prioritising the restoration of displaced communities before any new agricultural policies are implemented presents a direct challenge to the government's timeline and approach. As Rev. Targba stressed, the church is not speaking from a distance but as an institution whose members and institutions have been directly and severely affected by the prolonged violence. The NKST's demand for accountability and its insistence that the people of Benue deserve to be heard highlight the deep-seated grievances that must be addressed before any meaningful progress can be made on the ranching front.

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