Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, on Monday raised alarm over alleged insider collaboration with attackers responsible for repeated killings in Benue State, saying: “In my estimation, it is one killing too many. We have observed that the way some of the burnings were carried out shows they were targeted. It indicates the presence of insiders compromising security efforts.”
At least 100 people were killed on Saturday in Yelewata community of Guma Local Government Area alone by armed invaders.
General Musa, who was at the epicentre of the Yelewata killings to access the situation and to commiserate with Governor Hyacinth Alia and the people of the State, disclosed that security operatives suspect some individuals within the communities are feeding vital information to the attackers.
This is just as Leader of North Central Peace Advocates, Frank Utor, said on Monday that the perpetrators of killings in Benue, Plateau and other States in the North Central region are not herders, but international terror group.
In a statement in Abuja, Utor said: “The killers are not herdsmen. They do not rear cattle. They do not engage in any known pastoral activities. On the contrary, they rustle cattle from legitimate herders to raise money for their nefarious activities. They then weaponize the confusion to destabilise society.”
At the scene of the killings, General Musa stressed the need for everybody to be part of the fight to secure the environment, emphasising the need for a shift in strategy and assuring that the military would review its approach and work more closely with local stakeholders to address the crisis.
“We are going to change our strategies to look inwards. But we cannot do it alone. We need the communities to be part of this effort,” he said.
The Defence chief said consultations with traditional rulers, religious leaders, and local communities had already begun to restore trust and collaboration.
“There may be issues of trust and we are going to address them. We want this to be the last attack of this nature. We will go all out to ensure peace is restored,” he added.
General Musa assured that measures being implemented in other parts of the country would be replicated in Benue as he announced plans to visit Nasarawa State to strengthen border security coordination, which he described as critical to curbing cross-border attacks.
“We always receive information that these attackers are coming from across the borders. Wherever they are coming from, we will go after them. We must not wait for them to strike first,” he said.
The military chief further urged young people not to lose hope, insisting that Nigeria must not surrender to the violence.
“This is our country. We can never give up our country for anything. And this madness must stop,” the CDS posited.
Reacting to the CDS’s visit, the Chairman of Guma Local Government Area, Maurice Orwough, said the visit brings renewed hope to the people of the area.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines, Orwough said,, “The visit of the Chief of Defence Staff gives our people in Guma LGA a sense of hope. It shows that the Nigerian government is genuinely concerned about the situation in Benue State. This visit allows us to provide him with first-hand information about what is happening here and what we need.”
He added that the visit would help rebuild residents’ trust in the federal government.
“The quick response from the authorities gives our people some confidence that the government is paying attention. It is a sign of hope for us,” Orwough said.
Meanwhile, Utor, the leader of the North Central Peace Advocates, said if the federal government is not prepared to confront the reality head-on, the people of North Central would continue to be on the receiving end, adding that the Benue State government must do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Intelligence and on-ground evidence indicate that the killers are well-trained members and affiliates international terror groups, whose only mission is warfare against the indigenous communities of Benue, Plateau and other parts of North Central Nigeria.
“The killers don’t come on donkeys, or camels or horses; they ride on motorcycles, well-armed to attacks communities and retreat to their camps.
“By describing these terror groups as herdsmen, government after government have misdiagnosed and downplayed this major national security threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria.
“This mischaracterisation is one of the greatest obstacles to ending the Benue and North Central crisis. It deprives the security agencies of the legal and operational clarity needed to confront the threat decisively.
“We must therefore call these killers what they are: terrorists—not herders, not bandits, but foreign-backed armed insurgents. This is who they are,” he said, adding that the killings are politically motivated.
