The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has strongly condemned the persistent wave of killings and violence that engulfed Benue state, describing the situation as a genocide and a direct consequence of government inaction.

In a statement by Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, spokesperson of NEF, the body 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 is one of Nigeria’s critical agricultural hubs that plays a vital role in national food production, youth/ women employment and economic stability, but today, this once-thriving state is under siege.

“The lives of its innocent citizens are being violently cut short; its socio-economic structure is being systematically destroyed, while the government stands by in silence.

“NEF is outraged by the continued massacres. In just recent days, over 150 people were slaughtered in the Yelwata community. In Guma and Logo local government areas, another 200 lives were wiped out.

“Let it be clearly stated that this is not an ethnic conflict, as deceptively portrayed. It is an internal political crisis, one that has been allowed to fester due to criminal negligence and partisan interests.

“The deliberate attempt to reframe this politically driven violence as an ethnic or communal issue is dishonest, irresponsible and dangerous,” he said.

The Forum warned that mischaracterizing the killings risks emboldening perpetrators, distracting from the truth and fueling further instability.

NEF lists immediate demands and called for urgent and decisive action.

“Immediate and total deployment of elite, properly equipped security forces to Benue state to end the killings and restore peace and order. Enough of the half-measures and empty rhetoric.

“A full-scale, independent investigation into the political and economic interests fueling the violence and the systemic cover-ups being perpetuated by criminal actors should be undertaken. Swift arrest and public prosecution of all perpetrators, including any officials found complicit by action or omission. No one must be above the law.

“A national security overhaul that confronts the truth, embraces transparency and includes all regional stakeholders in the search for sustainable peace,” he said.

NEF therefore stands in solidarity with the people of Benue and all crisis-hit communities in Northern Nigeria, saying those killings were preventable.

“If the government continues on this path of silence and denial, it will have declared itself an enemy of justice, unity, and the people it was elected to serve,” the statement concluded.