Nigeria: Benue’s beef boycott: Residents switch to pork in protest against armed herdsmen attacks

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

In Benue State, the sound of sizzling beef is slowly disappearing from kitchens and markets. Once famous for its love of cow meat, the state is now witnessing a quiet but determined boycott — a protest against the deadly attacks by armed herdsmen on rural communities.

For many, the decision is personal. Instead of buying beef, they’ve turned to pork, a meat already cherished in Tiv and Idoma culture, but never before consumed on this scale.

This shift, however, has created a new problem — skyrocketing prices. A live pig that used to sell for about ₦10,000 now costs up to ₦35,000, pricing many families out of what was once an affordable source of protein.

Pig butchers, like Jonathan Aer on Ishaya Bakut Road in Makurdi, say the change began when herdsmen violence intensified. “People feel it’s wrong to keep buying beef from those whose cattle graze on farmlands after destroying lives,” Aer explained. “Now, pork demand is so high that sometimes we can’t even get enough to sell.”

Restaurant owners are feeling the pinch too. Madam Ngunna Igbaar, who runs a popular eatery in Makurdi, said pork used to be the poor man’s protein. “We could sell portions for ₦100 or ₦200. Now, the smallest is ₦500 — and even that is tiny,” she lamented.

For many residents, the boycott is about more than food — it’s a moral stand. One customer at Igbaar’s restaurant swore never to eat beef again, insisting he won’t “finance” those behind the attacks. Across Benue, similar sentiments are spreading.

While the movement has brought pride to those resisting in their own way, it also raises concerns. “We support the cause,” Igbaar said, “but pork is becoming unaffordable for ordinary people.”

If the current mood continues, locals predict that “No to Beef” could soon become Benue’s rallying cry.