Terseer Ugbor, the member representing Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency in Benue State, has warned that communities across Nigeria—especially in Benue—are facing what he described as systematic genocidal attacks, insisting that evidence from victims, religious leaders, and community figures makes the reality undeniable.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday regarding the rising insecurity and displacement across his constituency, Ugbor was asked whether he believed there was a Christian genocide taking place in Nigeria. He responded by citing multiple authoritative voices and years of lived experience from affected communities.

He said, “The truth of the matter is there’s a systematic genocidal attack against many communities in Nigeria.”

According to him, when the Tor Tiv, the paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, publicly told the President that genocidal killings were occurring in Benue; when the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi confirmed what he called “Christian genocide”; and when thousands of affected people have been killed, tortured, and forcefully displaced from their ancestral homes for over 15 years, it leaves little room for doubt.

He stated, “I would just put it like this. If the Tor Tiv of the entire Tiv people worldwide mentioned in front of the President that there’s genocidal killings in Benue, if the Bishop of the Makurdi diocese himself confirmed that there’s a Christian genocide in Benue, and if the people themselves who have been killed, people in my federal constituency, in my village, who have been killed and tortured and displaced from their communities for 15 years, systematically refusing their return to their ancestral lands, who am I to deny that there’s no Christian genocide in Nigeria? The truth of the matter is there’s genocide taking place in many parts of Nigeria.”

He stressed that what is happening mirrors tragic historical precedents.

“When we think about genocide, we remember the Hutu-Tutsi genocide. We remember the Southern Darfur genocide, the Southern Congo. We remember the genocide against the Jews by the Nazis. So it brings back very negative memories of what genocide actually is.”

Ugbor said it is “unthinkable” that a people like the Tiv, or the wider Benue population, would face the threat of extermination in modern-day Nigeria, but the pattern of attacks, prolonged displacement, and the refusal to allow communities return to their ancestral land paint a troubling picture.

The lawmaker called for urgent national attention, saying the scale and persistence of the violence demand a stronger response to protect vulnerable communities and uphold the country’s constitutional commitment to justice and security for all. (Arise News)

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