DHQ steps up action against killers in Benue

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, yesterday said the military was working on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to bring an end to the killings and apprehend the perpetrators of the Yelewata massacre in Benue State.

No fewer than 147 persons were killed in the agrarian community in the Guma Local Government Area of the state last weekend.

President Tinubu gave the directive during a high-level stakeholder meeting at the Benue State Government House, Makurdi, on Wednesday.

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In a direct charge to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and General Musa, the President demanded swift justice and stronger intelligence operations in the troubled Northcentral state.

The CDS, who briefed media executives at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja yesterday, said the directive should be carried out.

He said: “Yes, Mr President gave us a directive. We are working on it.”

The CDS stressed the media’s crucial role in combating terrorism and insurgency, being a powerful force in shaping public perception and morale.

“In today’s battles, we are not only engaged in physical combat but also fighting a war for the hearts and minds of the people,” he said.

The CDS sought a professional and objective partnership with the media, acknowledging the significant impact of media reports on military operations.

He added: “The media is not just a supporting actor but a central player in shaping narratives that influence public sentiment, national unity, and peacebuilding.

“We believe that truth and trust are the cornerstones of national resilience.”

Also yesterday, President Tinubu directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to lead a high-powered committee of stakeholders to restore peace in Benue and the wider Northcentral region.

Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the SGF, Segun Imohiosen, said in a statement that the committee will serve as a platform for broad-based engagement with critical actors, with the SGF playing a central role in convening and coordinating peace efforts.

Akume said the committee will include former governors of Benue, the paramount traditional rulers—the Tor Tiv and the Och’Idoma—as well as the SGF himself and other notable stakeholders.

Their mandate is to develop a practical, inclusive, and lasting framework to end the bloodshed and communal hostilities that have plagued the state for years.

“This is a directive I take very seriously. I assure Mr. President and the people of Benue that I will work hand-in-hand with all critical stakeholders—local communities, civil society organisations, security agencies, and our revered traditional rulers—to build a roadmap for reconciliation and sustained peace,” the SGF stated.

Yari: Tinubu doesn’t make empty threats

The Senator for Zamfara West, Alhaji Abdul-Aziz Abubakar Yari, said President Tinubu was not the type of leader given to empty threats.

He expressed confidence that the President will ensure that those behind the killings in Yelewata will be brought to justice.

Yari, the Senate Committee Chairman on Water Resources, condemned the “gruesome murder of the innocent and harmless” and called for “whole-of-society” approach to combating insecurity.

Yari said the President has not only shown responsible and responsive leadership by identifying with the people of Benue and visiting the state, but the “on-the-spot actions” that he took were marks of a hands-on leader.”

The former Zamfara governor said: “The President is capable of containing the situation and even if it means adopting totally extreme strategies to give every part of the nation peace, he would do it, because he was elected to secure the nation and the people and this much he understands.

“His decision to suspend everything he was doing is worthy of note. If we understood the responsibilities associated with the office of the President, we would see the empathy in his decision to personally visit Benue.

“He could have delegated a high-powered team to visit and stand in for him while he’d go on with his other commitments.

“But he decided to show leadership and identify with the people, who showed him love through their votes and also believed in his person and leadership.

“I can assure the people of Benue and Nigeria in general that those behind this dastardly act will not get away with their mindlessness. Those in charge of security also know the implications of not living up to billing, so no one is kidding here.

“The criminals will be apprehended sooner than we all can ever imagine. The president doesn’t issue an empty threat. He meant what he said and said what he meant.

“They will not get away with this, and whatever their motive was, we will also unravel soon. But, ultimately, this madness has to stop, and it will stop.”

Yari, however, appealed to the people to also see the security of society as their business and responsibility.

SMBLF seeks state police

Also yesterday, the Southern and Middle Belt Forum (SMBL) urged President Tinubu to deal decisively with the “terrorists and their collaborators”.

It made the call in a communique issued at the end of its emergency meeting over the state of the nation in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The communique was jointly signed by Oba Oladipo Olaitan (Afenifere); Bitrus Pogun (Middle Belt Forum); John Azuta-Mbata (Ohanaeze Ndigbo World-Wide) and Godknows Igali (Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF)

SMBLF reiterated the demand for state police with complimentary divisions at the local government to address the challenges of insecurity.

“The Federal Government and particularly the National Assembly must now accept their failure to provide the most fundamental security of life and property across the country whilst we witness the impunity of terrorists and their foreign collaborators wrecking genocidal attacks on indigenous communities across the nation and particularly in the Middle Belt region as happening currently in Benue state.

“For the umpteenth time, SMBLF calls on the President and the National Assembly to rise to their constitutional responsibility and duty to protect the life and property of Nigerians as we propose as follows:

“That the Nigerian federation should ensure enhanced autonomy of the federating states, such that each state shall have its own independent police command with complementary divisions at the local government and community levels.

“All police officers from the rank of a Chief Superintendent and below should be deployed within their state of origin,” the group said.

SMBLF rejected the planned National Forest Guards as an additional federal security structure in the states.

It said all security institutions in the country, apart from the armed forces, police, civil defence and the State Security Services, should be part of the security architecture of the states.

It also kicked against what it called ‘the rituals of fire-brigade’ deployment of armed forces personnel to troubled areas in the country, stressing that such action was ineffective and put unnecessary pressure on the military from its constitutional role of defending the nation’s territorial integrity.

While expressing great concerns over the escalating security challenges in the country, the group also urged the state governments to seek immediate measures to provide security for their people by tapping from the Amotekun Corps and supporting them with weapons.

“These security measures are considered more effective than the current unitary architecture in a Federation, which renders Governors as Chief Security Officers of their states only in name,” the group said.