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Recently, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered security agencies to bring to book the perpetrators of mindless killings in some parts of Plateau and Benue states. The President also described the rising orgy of violence in the two states as depressing, needless and avoidable. Besides, the security agencies should equally halt the rising insecurity in the South East region and other parts of the country.
The gruesome attacks in Plateau and Benue states led to loss of lives and destruction of houses. The bloodbath started on May 15 in communities in Mangu Local Government Area and later spread to other local governments and some parts of Benue State. According to the State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), about 130 people were killed, 1,000 houses burnt in the violence that affected 22 villages.
However, a human rights organisation, Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, reported that at least, 346 persons were killed within three months in eight Local Government Areas in the State affected by the crisis. The most affected local government areas were Bokkos, Mangu, Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Jos North, Jos South; Mikang and Bassa. Not less than 17 people were killed in Bokkos, Mangu 234; Barkin Ladi 39; Riyom 36; Jos North 5; Jos South 9; Mikang 5 and one in Bassa councils. In all, about 6,603 households were affected in the attacks.
Between April 17 and July 10, 2023, there were about 18,751 inmates in 14 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the State. Out of the 18,751 inmates in the IDP camps, there were 2,081 widows and 6,066 orphans between the ages of 0-5 years old. Old people accounted for 1,057, while teenagers and adult orphans were put at 828.
Similarly, Benue State has been grappling with incessant attacks by murderous herdsmen. Due to the attacks by the herdsmen, the state has not less than 2.5 million internally displaced persons. In April, the herdsmen carnage led to the death of over 200 persons in the state. The then governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, who decried the worsening insecurity, had on April 8 revealed that over 134 people were killed in just five days.
The recent invasion of Akpuuna and adjourning villages in Ukum local government area of the state by the killer herdsmen left 24 people dead. The incident apparently forced the governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, to direct security agents to apprehend those behind the mayhem. We condemn the bloodbath in the North Central region. Also, the insecurity in the South East region is on a steady rise. The brutal enforcement of the weekly sit-at-home order by separatist agitators has led to mindless killings and destruction of people’s livelihoods. The demand for the urgent release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has heightened the violence in the region in recent times.
Without mincing words, the weekly sit-at-home has invariably ruined the economy of the South East region, with most businesses relocating to other zones. Recently, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has estimated the loss incurred by the region to insecurity in the last two years at over N4trillion. The insecurity in the region has cost it many investments.
We urge the Tinubu administration to treat the insecurity in the South East as a national problem that deserves urgent attention. It has gone beyond what the South East governors can tackle alone. No doubt, what affects the region will also affect other parts of the country. He should also order the security agencies to tackle the security challenge in the South East before anarchy sets in.
Therefore, it is good that the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has ordered troops of the Nigerian Army to take control of the South East region where IPOB factional leader, Simon Ekpa, has imposed a sit-at-home order. The order came on the heels of a two-week sit-at-home protest billed to commence on July 31, issued by Ekpa, the Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator. Let those behind the mindless killings in Benue, Plateau and South East region be brought to book forthwith. The rising insecurity in the two regions is a disincentive to investment and development. However, the security agents should be adequately equipped and mobilised for the task ahead.
