More than 100 people were reportedly killed in a coordinated attack, a village in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, on the night of June 10, 2025, making it one of the deadliest assaults in the state this year.

When Benue state enacted the open Grazing prohibition and Ranches Establishment law in 2017, it positioned itself as a trailblazer in the fight against farmer-herders violence. It was a bold move in a country where inaction is often the norm. For many, it signalled a long overdue shift towards protecting farming communities and modernising Nigeria’s livestock industry. Benue has not been a state of peace, it has become a case study in policy without power.

The idea behind the law was a clear one: end open grazing, prevent the destruction of farmland, and promote ranching as a sustainable solution. On paper the idea was sound, but practically, it was implemented in isolation, without the proper infrastructure, education, or national coordination needed to make it possible. Ranching requires more than good intentions. It requires land, capital, and access to water and veterinary services. Many nomadic herders, particularly those from Fulani communities, lacked the resources and support to make that shift. And worse still, they were not part of the conversation to begin with.

For headers, the law felt like a direct attack on their livelihood and identity. Tension increased, and this resistance turned deadly. Since the law’s attacks including the recent massacre in Yelewata where over 100 people were killed. Some believe the grazing ban provokes retaliation, particularly in rural boarder’s areas where law enforcement is weak and security official s arrive late, if at all. The state officials argue that the Federal Government has failed to support the law or protect its Benue’s residents.

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The truth however is more complex. The farmer-herder conflict is a national crisis, not a state problem. Desertification in the North, dwindling water bodies, and shrinking grazing lands have pushed herders further south, where land is already contested and communities feel under siege. At the same time Nigeria rapid population growth is intensifying pressure on farmland, while rising insecurity gives cover to armed groups who exploit the chaos for profit power. This volatile mix is a state-level grazing ban, no matter how well intentioned, was never going to be enough.

Worse still, the conflict is no longer being fought with sticks and cutlasses. Across Nigeria’s middle Belt, headers, they are equipped with armed elements like rifles, military-grade weapon, and even night vision gears. These weapons are believed to flow in from Nigeria’s porous Northern Boarders, trafficked from conflict zones in the Sahel. From Libya’s post-Gaddafi collapse to insurgencies in Mali and Niger, the black market I West Africa is saturated with arms, and Nigeria has become a key destination. And as herders cross into southern farmland in search of pastures, their presence triggers deep-seated fears, and ethnic tension. Security forces are often stretched thin, under-equipped, or entirely absent in rural areas, leaving the community vulnerable.

Meanwhile, regulation remains almost non-existence. Nigeria has no functional livestock tracking system Grazing routes are neither digitized nor safe guarded. And when headers cross into Southern farmland in search for pastures, their presence triggers deep seated fear. Security forces are often stretched thin, under-equipped, or entirely absent in rural areas, leaving the communities vulnerable and attackers unchallenged.

What the law lacks is enforcement. It made up for in audacity. It forced a national conversation. It pushed grazing and land reform into the policy spotlight. It challenged a status quo that normalized the death of farmers and the silence of government. In a country where rural violence is often seen as background noise, Benue’s law was loud, unignorably statement.

But declaration are not solutions. The killings have continued. The displacement camps are growing. And the promised shift to ranching has stalled. What is clear is that laws alone cannot carry the weight of a broken system. Without federal investment in ranching infrastructure, peacebuilding programs between communities, and genuine political will to prosecute armed attackers, the law is a little more than symbol.

Following the latest attack, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a high made a high profile visit to Makurdi, Benue Capital. He met with the injured victims at the hospital, questioned police leadership over the absence of arrests and called on security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators. The president pledged to restore peace and rebuild affected communities but did not visit Yelewata directly.

The president visit, while symbolically significant, now hinges on delivery, swift, prosecution and deployment of forces capable of sustaining the rural society. In the coming week, communities like Yelewata will be watching closely to see if President Ahmed Tinubu’s promises will change their daily reality.

Meiza Nigeria