News Editor
The North Central Peace Advocates (NCPA) is alarmed by the escalating violence in Benue State — a disturbing trend that has claimed hundreds of innocent lives, displaced entire communities, and reversed the modest gains made in peacebuilding and development.
A statement by its coordinator, Franc Utoo, said that while we mourn the dead and stand in solidarity with the bereaved, we are compelled to raise a red flag over the dangerous misrepresentation, and politicisation of this crisis.
The group, through it’s coordinator asserted that “we must be unequivocal because the persistent framing of these killings as “herders versus farmers clashes” is not only false, but dangerously misleading. This false narrative has provided a convenient smokescreen for well-coordinated, well-armed, and politically motivated terror groups whose sole objective is to destabilise Benue State and undermine the peace and stability of Nigeria.
He further explained that 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 destabilize society.
Intelligence and on-ground evidence indicate that the killers are well trained members and affiliates of 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 attack communities, and retreat to their camps.
The coordinator maintained that 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.
If the Federal Government of Nigeria is not prepared to confront this reality heads-on, then the people of North Central will continue to be on the receiving end.
Therefore, to ask the Benue State Government to go and look for the killers of hundreds of people and dialogue with them, is akin to abdicating government’s responsibility to secure our communities and bring the killers to justice.
While we agree that it is imperative for state governments to continue to dialogue with all community members for peace, that dialogue can not be a replacement for identifying and bringing the terrorists to justice.
The purpose of these persistent terror attacks in Benue and other states in the North Central is to ignite anarchy, cause mass disaffection against government at all levels, and create a general atmosphere of lawlessness.
We should remember that this war by these terror groups has been going on for over 15 years and no government has been able to identify and confront these terrorists for who they are and to bring their murderous atrocities to an end.
We fully appreciate the passion and the effort of President Tinubu and his government to bring peace back to Benue State and other parts of Nigeria, which are also suffering from terror attacks.
However, unless the government courageously interprets this war for what it is to enable the security agencies give the appropriate operational orders to hunt down and bring the killers to justice, the call for dialogue will be futile.
