President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday ordered security chiefs to arrest perpetrators of the killings in Benue State.
He gave the directive while addressing community leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders at the Government House in Makurdi.
The president, who visited Benue in the wake of the recent killings in the state, directed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to ensure the perpetrators were brought to justice.
“I expect there should be arrests of those criminals. Take out those criminals,” Tinubu ordered.
He also urged the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to gather actionable intelligence to prevent further attacks.
He noted that the persistent attacks and displacements in Benue were not isolated tragedies but a national concern requiring a collective resolve.
The president also directed immediate establishment of a peace resolution committee to address the ongoing bloodshed in the state.
He tasked the governments of Benue and Nasarawa states to jointly set up the committee that should include elder statesmen capable of driving inclusive dialogue and durable solutions.
“The time has come to end this cycle of pain. We must convert our collective tragedy into a foundation for lasting prosperity. We will work with the people of Benue to convert this tragedy into economic prosperity,” he said.
He also proposed establishment of a high-level committee of respected elders, including the paramount traditional rulers of the Tiv and Idoma nations, to foster dialogue, reconciliation and community rebuilding.
While expressing condolences to the people of Yelewata and other affected communities, Tinubu stressed that the country must abandon divisions and reject the forces of terror.
“We are here not just to mourn but to stand with you and reflect deeply. What affects Benue affects us all. We may sleep in different rooms, but we live under one roof as Nigerians,” he stated.
The president called for sincere leadership and grassroots driven strategies to rebuild trust and restore harmony, warning that without unity, the door remains open to further violence.
President tasked Gov Alia to work for peace
Tinubu asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to work more for peace and development of Benue, saying he was elected to govern, not to bury people.
“Let us meet again in Abuja. Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,” he said.
Tinubu also urged the governor to allocate land for ranching and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up.
The president called for blood donations to support the injured receiving treatment at the Benue State Teaching Hospital, where he had earlier visited victims and medical staff.
While underscoring the importance of peace for sustainable development, he implored Alia to ensure Benue is peaceful. The president said: “I wanted to come here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces. But peace is vital to development. The value of human life is greater than that of a cow. We were elected to govern, not to bury people.
“Governor Alia, you were elected under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You are not elected to bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work with us.”
We’re faced with full-scale genocide – Tor Tiv
Earlier, the Tor Tiv and chairman of the Benue State Council of Traditional Rulers, Professor James Ayatse, described attacks on rural communities in the state as a “full-scale genocidal invasion”, appealing to Tinubu to bring peace to the state.
“You have shown courage where others failed. You can give us peace. You can stop our weeping. Benue is bleeding. Give us back our lives,” the traditional ruler appealed.
He dismissed the narratives that characterised the Benue killings as communal clashes or reprisals, warning that such misrepresentation undermines a real solution.
He said: “It is not communal clashes. It is not reprisal attacks. What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and vandalism campaign by pedo-terrorists and bandits, which has been on for decades and is worsening every year”.
He urged the president to act with the same political will and decisiveness he had shown in national economic matters, particularly the fuel subsidy removal and the exchange rate reform.
“Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment. This is far more sinister than what many think,” he stated.
Ayatse also accused some political actors of exploiting the tragedy for political gains.
“There are those who even prefer the crisis to escalate just so a state of emergency can be declared. Instead of collaborating to end the violence, they are politicising the bloodshed,” he said.
He stated that Benue did not deserve the bloodbath having played pivotal role during the civil war.
He quizzed: “What has Benue done to deserve this? We are not asking for too much, just the peace to live, to farm, and to feed the nation.”
The traditional ruler warned that the continued displacement of farming communities in the state could worsen the nation’s food security crisis.
We need action, not condolences – Alia
In his remarks, Governor Hyacinth Alia sought creation of a special intervention fund to rebuild ravaged communities and support displaced families.
Alia, who expressed frustration over the incessant killings in the state, described the continued armed invasions as a deliberate attempt to wipe out his people and seize their ancestral lands.
“Our people have become refugees in their own land. They are farmers without farms, children without schools, and families without homes. We cannot continue like this,” Alia said.
He told the president that the people of Benue had bled for too long and were tired of federal silence and failed promises.
“What we are witnessing is no longer mere insecurity, it is barbaric inhumanity. Our people are being slaughtered in their sleep, our homes burned, our farmlands destroyed. This is war, and it must be treated as such,” he said.
He acknowledged Tinubu’s visit as the first of its kind by a sitting president in response to the insecurity in the state, but noted that symbolic gestures were not enough.
“Yes, Your Excellency, your presence today gives us hope, but we have no more tears to shed. We need action, not condolences. We need justice, not just empathy,” the governor said.
Alia called on the federal government to take “drastic and decisive” measures, insisting that the security agencies, despite their efforts, had failed to protect lives.
He asked: “How long shall we bury our people? How many mass graves must we dig before this country acts?”
The governor also reiterated his call for the establishment of state police, saying it is no longer a political debate but a survival strategy.
“Give us the constitutional power to protect ourselves. The blood of our people is crying out from the ground, and history will judge those who stood by and watched,” Alia said.
Residents assess Tinubu’s visit
A resident, Tertsea Benga, who spoke to our correspondent, said the president’s visit was a welcome development “if it follows action with words.”
He said: “There had been a lot of such promises in the past which were not translated into reality. If this is followed to the letter, then we will achieve results at the end of the day.”
A retired senior officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Orgem Angulum, said he had no comment on Tinubu’s visit to the state.
“It is too early for me to give any comment now. He (the president) has made promises. So, let us give sometime to see what comes after the visit,” he stated.
The chairman of the Benue NGO Network (BENGONET), Laz Mom, said he was impressed that the president came.
He, however, said that Tinubu should have given the service chiefs an ultimatum to apprehend the perpetrators of the violence across Benue.
“I’m not disappointed. Positively, I’m impressed; that the president came shows that he is concerned. Secondly, his coming will make the security chiefs to up their game while the perpetrators will have a rethink because all eyes are now on Benue.
“I’m only a bit concerned that the president didn’t give a marching order like an ultimatum to the security chiefs to apprehend the culprits. Then talking about reconciliation, how do we reconcile with faceless people that we don’t even know,” Mom asked.
Another Benue resident, Dr Jeffrey Kuraun, stated: “Benue State receives high security vote. If communities are still being overrun by attackers and citizens live in fear, then the question must be asked: what exactly is this money achieving?”
Kuraun noted that security votes are public funds meant for actionable intelligence, community policing, threat prevention, and local enforcement support not political patronage or bureaucratic waste.
He argued that while national attention is important, the primary responsibility lies with the state government to lead the charge.
“Leadership means taking the initiative, not waiting for Abuja. The bloodshed must stop. What we need is accountability, not blame games,” he said.
He outlined urgent steps the government must take, including establishing functional community policing units, engaging traditional rulers and local vigilantes, and conducting a public audit of security spending to restore trust and transparency.
“The people have a right to ask: where is the money going and what is it securing?” he added.
Kuraun concluded with a call for courage, clarity, and measurable outcomes, saying, “Benue is not just a budget line but it is home to millions. Our people deserve better than politics-as-usual. The time for excuses is over. Security must be seen, felt and trusted,” he said.
We’ll talk about Benue crisis later – MACBAN
Meanwhile, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Benue State has said that it will issue a statement on the Benue crisis at a later time.
The secretary of the association, Ibrahim Galma, said a statement on the social media quoting the MACBAN as commenting on Benue killings did not emanate from the association.
“We will issue an official statement. What is being circulated is not from us,” he emphasised.
Benue crisis not ethnic conflict but internal political crisis – NEF
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), in a statement yesterday by its spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, said Benue crisis “is not an ethnic conflict as it is deceptively portrayed. It is an internal political crisis; one that has been allowed to fester due to criminal negligence, partisan interests, and a complete failure of leadership.
“The deliberate attempt to reframe this politically driven violence as an ethnic or communal issue is dishonest, irresponsible, and dangerous. It deflects from the truth and emboldens those behind these atrocities.
“The government’s refusal to act, speak, or even acknowledge the scale of the crisis is a betrayal of its core constitutional responsibility. It has failed in its primary duty to protect the lives and property of its citizens. What we are witnessing is not just failure, but deliberate inaction, a culture of impunity, and an alarming collapse of national integrity.”
The NEF warned that mischaracterising the Benue killings risks emboldening perpetrators, distracting from the truth, and fueling further instability.
It decried the alarming scale of human loss and suffering across Benue, warning that the state, “once a pillar of agricultural productivity and economic stability, is now descending into lawlessness and despair.
“The situation has degenerated into unrestrained bloodshed and lawlessness, turning communities into killing fields and exposing the utter collapse of governance, accountability, and security.
“Benue State, one of Nigeria’s critical agricultural hubs, plays a vital role in national food production, youth and women employment, and economic stability. Today, this once-thriving state is under siege.
“The lives of its innocent citizens are being violently cut short, and its socio-economic structure is being systematically destroyed, while the government stands by in silence, helplessness, or worse, complicity.”
The NEF demanded “immediate and total deployment of elite, properly equipped security forces to Benue State to end the killings and restore peace and order.”
It said: “Enough of the half-measures and empty rhetoric.”
It also demanded a full-scale and independent investigation into “the political and economic interests fuelling the violence, and the systemic cover-ups being perpetuated by criminal actors as well as swift arrest and public prosecution of all perpetrators, including any official found complicit by action or omission.
“No one must be above the law and also a comprehensive compensation and rehabilitation for victims, bereaved families, and displaced communities,” the NEF added.
Students stand under rain to welcome Tinubu
Despite the declaration of a public holiday for President Tinubu’s visit to Benue State, students lined the streets in the early hours of yesterday to welcome him.
In videos which went viral yesterday, the students were seen by the road, under the rain. The students lined the road from the Wurukum Roundabout to the Government House in Makurdi, waving flags and chanting in anticipation of the president’s arrival.
Several residents took to social media platforms to criticise what they described as a display of fanfare amidst the killings in the state.
Also, some women and youths, dressed in black attires, stood quietly along the road, calling for decisive federal action.
Another group of women waved green leafs with placards, demanding end to the insecurity in the state as they sang in Igbo language and danced around the streets of Makurdi.
