The Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM), has blamed militias using pastoral movement for the continued killings in Benue State.
National Co-ordinator of Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM), AVM Monday Morgan (rtd), in a press statement issued yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu to draw action plans that will bring about lasting solution to the current security crisis in the country as a whole.
BRM alleged that the Benue problem has transmuted from what used to be occasional clashes between indigenous farmers and normadic Fulanis to persistent, full-scale and unprovoked visitation of genocidal terror on innocent communities across virtually the entire state.
“As we commiserates with Yelwata community, government and people of Benue state at this sobering moment in our nation, we hope that the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will mark the beginning of an end to a security challenge that has been escalating for over two decades.
“We wish to use this opportunity to join other Nigerians in recommending action plans for a lasting solution to the current security crisis in Nigeria, particularly in Benue state.
“We want to state that the problem has transmuted from what used to be occasional clashes between indigenous farmers and normadic Fulanis to persistent, full-scale and unprovoked visitation of genocidal terror on innocent communities across virtually the entire state,” the statement read in parts.
AVM Morgan also rejected the narrative of peaceful cohabitation or amicable settlement with the marauding herdsmen, saying perpetrators of violence are not residents in Benue State but transient invaders.
“It is important to state clearly that there are no permanent Fulani settlements in Benue. The perpetrators of violence are not residents but transient invaders, moving between Nasarawa, Taraba, Kogi, and Benue, often armed and well-coordinated. Therefore, the narrative of peaceful cohabitation or amicable settlement is inapplicable to the Benue context. The security risk is not from herders seeking integration, but from militias using pastoral movement as cover for sustained aggression,” he added.
On how to permanently stamp out what he described as, “terrorist-cum-genocidal stranglehold on Benue State”, Morgan urged President Tinubu to fully deploy to Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to Benue state that are well-equipped with personnel, logistics, and actionable intelligence support. The President should also consider; issue direct federal intervention order mandating the NSA and Defence Headquarters to assess and fortify all FOBs in Benue State; re-engage community security volunteers under regulated state–federal collaboration; and that the National Security Agencies should consider supporting the development of community defense infrastructure across vulnerable LGAs — training, communication systems, surveillance drones, and rapid response tools.