On October 22, 2001, hundreds of unarmed civilians feared dead as troops of the Nigerian Army launched a full-scale retaliatory campaign across Tiv communities in Benue State.
The operation, which began in the early hours of Monday, October 22, 2001, swept through Gbeji, Anyiin, Zaki Biam, Vaase, Sankera and other neighbouring communities in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas.
According to sources, the invasion was in retaliation for the abduction and killing of 19 soldiers whose mutilated bodies were discovered on October 12, near Zaki Biam.
The soldiers had been deployed to restore peace following recurring clashes between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups.
Eyewitnesses said soldiers of the 23rd Armoured Brigade invited villagers for a meeting, separated men from women and children, and opened fire indiscriminately.
“We thought they called us for peace talks. They asked all men to gather. Suddenly they started shooting,” a survivor from Gbeji told reporters.
At the end of the three-day operation that lasted till October 24, over 200 civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were killed. Homes were razed, properties destroyed and thousands displaced.
Human Rights Watch and other rights groups condemned the action as excessive and unlawful.
