PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has mandated the country’s service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to go after those behind the dastardly killings in Benue State, which have left scores of people dead and many others severely injured.
Tinubu issued the order on Wednesday during his visit to Benue State following the renewed attacks in the North-Central State.
“Police, I hope your men are on alert to listen to information. How come no arrest has been made? I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals,” Tinubu said at the Benue Government House in Makurdi, the capital, during a stakeholders meeting.
“Christopher (the Chief of Defence Staff), you have given much. I watch your comments, you can’t be tired of staying in the bush. Oloyede and the Air Marshal, we thank all of you, but we need to keep our ears to the ground, let’s get those criminals, let’s get them out. DG NIA, DG SSS, retool your information channels and let’s have tangible intelligence so that this will not occur again.”
Gunmen, suspected to be herders, had last week attacked the Yelwata community in the Yelwata Local Government Area (LGA) of the food-producing state, leaving many dead and thousands of others displaced.
Opposition politicians, including Peter Obi of the Labour Party and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, were vocal about their condemnation of the deadly attacks, asking Tinubu and security agencies to address the killings.
Pope Leo XIV also joined the call for an end to the attacks, which he described as “a terrible massacre”.
On Sunday, Tinubu asked Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State to convene a reconciliation meeting and dialogue with the warring factions as part of moves to end the bloodshed and bring peace to the state.
During his visit to the troubled state on Wednesday, Tinubu re-echoed the need for tolerance and dialogue among stakeholders in the North-Central state.
“As Nigerians, we are members of the same house, but sleeping in different rooms. Whether you are a Tiv, Idoma, or Yoruba, let’s turn this country into a nation of prosperity, and unity, and fight our enemies together; not fight each other,” the president told the gathering that including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje; traditional leaders, governors and other dignitaries.
“We can turn this tragedy into economic prosperity. We can do it, and we will do it with you. Let’s have a very serious understanding of, tolerance level. The value of human lives is greater than that of a cow,” Tinubu told Governor Alia.
“Let’s create that synergy for peace, development, and prosperity. We are here to govern, not to bury [them]. We are here to raise families, not to lose some, and provide healthcare, water for them to drink, and food [for them] to eat,” he said amid applause from the crowd at the Government House in the Benue State capital.
President Tinubu, at the meeting, also canvassed for the establishment of a committee comprising past governors of the state, traditional rulers, and other important stakeholders to help in finding lasting solutions to the lingering issues affecting Benue State.
“Whatever we need to do, I will want us to create this leadership committee now, and then we will meet in Abuja to really fashion out the nucleus of a lasting peace, and I am ready to invest in that peace,” the president said.
Tinubu said Benue State deserves to live in peace and is asking Nigerians to donate blood to the injured victims of the recent surge of killings.
He said, “Governor, please announce in the broadcast for people to donate more blood voluntarily to the hospitals”.
During his visit to Benue State, the former Lagos State governor went to the hospital to see those nursing injuries from the attacks.
Meanwhile, Governor Alia believes the establishment of state police and an intervention fund for the affected communities are critical steps to restoring peace in Benue.
According to Alia, though community policing comes with challenges, it is essential to ending the lingering crisis rocking the food-producing state.
For the Tor Tiv V and Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council, James Ayatse, the killings in the state are calculated and genocidal.
“We have grave concern about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue,” the traditional ruler said.
“Your Excellency, it is not herders-farmers clashes, it is not communal clashes, it is not reprisal attacks or skirmishes. It is this misinformation that has led to suggestions such as ‘remain tolerant’, ‘negotiate for peace’, or ‘learn to live with your neighbours.’
“What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder-terrorists and bandits, which has been on for decades and is worsening every year.
“Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment. So we are dealing with something far more sinister than we often admit.”