The wanton killings in the Middle Belt areas of the country have continued unchecked with the reported massacre of about 144 people in Plateau and Benue states in the last two weeks. Nothing can be more horrific than the extermination of a family of eight and the confirmed death of no fewer than 52 persons in the attacks on Zike village in Kimakpa community, Bassa Local Government Area and multiple communities in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Otobi Akpa district of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State was not spared as suspected Fulani “herdsmen” launched a fresh attack on the community penultimate Tuesday, leaving several people dead and hundreds displaced. That attack was the third of such on the Otobi community in the month of April alone, deepening fears among locals over growing insecurity in the area.

The senseless killings, while exposing the glaring deficiencies in Nigeria’s internal security architecture, has also deeply unsettled our food security. Benue and Plateau states are among the foremost areas known as the food basket of Nigeria. The terrorists attack the people, destroy their farmlands, burn down their homes, drive them off their ancestral lands and occupy them.

The killings not only violate the sanctity of human life but also erode public trust in the country’s institutions and the rule of law. These genocidal attacks have gone on for over 25 years. The Federal Government has dispatched countless military, police and security contingents with little hunger to achieve results.

The Benue State and Plateau State governments have routinely set up investigative panels and numerous reconciliation committees, but they have all so far failed to achieve the desired objective. The invaders remain unflinching in their determination to exterminate the indigenous communities and take over their lands because the law enforcement agencies are not doing their work.

Clearly, the Federal and State governments are simply running around in circles rather than hitting the nail on the head. They know what to do but lack the courage and patriotism to do it. 

We challenge President Bola Tinubu to live up to his promise to go after the attackers, flush them from all ungoverned spaces throughout the Federation and return all displaced people home. He should give a deadline for the closure of all Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camps.

We dare this administration to display the courage and patriotism that its predecessors lacked. Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

This government’s betrayal of trust, abandonment of defenceless, law abiding Nigerians and abdication of constitutional duty must stop.

Save Benue and Plateau people!