By Dickson Omobola

A coalition of 130 pan-Yoruba and Itsekiri groups, Alliance of Yoruba Democratic Movement, AYDM, weekend, condemned the massacre of no fewer than 200 people in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, saying not having a Fulani as the President is being used to drag Nigeria to war.

The groups, which accused a section of the Fulani leadership of pursuing the age-long agenda of political domination and land grabbing, urged President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the insecurity across the country.

A statement signed by AYDM’s General Secretary, Mr Popoola Ajayi, said those who attacked Yelewata were determined to break the will of Benue and Plateau people in order to ease advancement to Southern Nigeria.
AYDM also expressed support and solidarity with the people of the Middle Belt, saying the South-West shared common fate with Benue and other states under extremists’ attacks.

The group stated: “The people of the South-West are ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the battles ahead. Already, the -chaos is spreading to other parts of the North-Central region, the South-East and the South-West. This atrocity marks a new low in the series of attacks being carried out by a well-funded network of Fulani militias which continues to disguise itself under various guises like Marmuda, Lakurawa and herdsmen, bandits.

“Since 2015, communities in Nasarawa, Plateau, and Benue States — including Agatu, Logo, Katsina-Ala, Gwer East and West — have been relentlessly attacked. Over 4,000 lives have been lost, with properties worth billions destroyed. Entire villages have been overrun, and indigenous populations forcefully displaced by strangers now occupying their ancestral lands.

“The growing boldness of the militias cannot be separated from the political calculations ahead of the 2027 general elections. There is a deliberate and dangerous buildup by vested interests who are weaponising politics as a tool for electoral manipulation and territorial conquest.

“President Tinubu must go beyond the usual ritual of issuing ineffective statements and must now match words with concrete action. The time to act is now — before the entire country is taken over by forces bent on its disintegration. Only a restructured Nigeria where every region can protect its land and people, control its resources, and govern itself in line with its values and aspirations can put an end to this madness.”