Our reporter
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed Nigeria’s security agencies to hunt down and apprehend those behind the recent massacre in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where over 100 people lost their lives in a violent attack.
Speaking on Wednesday during a town hall meeting in Makurdi, the State capital, President Tinubu issued a stern directive to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, calling for swift and decisive action.
“Christopher… We need to get our ears to the ground. Let’s get those criminals. Let’s get them out,” the President ordered, in an emotionally charged moment that reflected the gravity of the tragedy.
The President’s visit followed last Friday’s devastating assault, widely blamed on armed herders, which left scores of residents dead and many others seriously injured. Such attacks have become all too frequent in Benue, particularly in farming communities, fuelling tensions and displacing thousands.
Tinubu also paid a visit to victims receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, where he offered words of encouragement and reassured them of his administration’s commitment to justice.
Addressing Governor Hyacinth Alia, President Tinubu alluded to underlying political hostilities potentially fuelling the crisis. “Your political enemies don’t want you to succeed… Are you just realising that?” he remarked.
Beyond the immediate security response, Tinubu called for a collaborative regional approach to achieve lasting peace in the Middle Belt.
“We cannot do without one another,” the President noted. “I want us to create a leadership committee now to meet in Abuja to fashion out a strategy for lasting peace. And I am ready to invest in that peace.”
Benue State has for years been at the epicentre of bloody conflicts between herders and farmers, with local leaders and civil society repeatedly urging stronger federal intervention. The latest attack has renewed public outcry for permanent solutions to the unrelenting violence.
