The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, after two years of outright failure, has embarked on the final stretch of its tenure with blatant intimidation and intimidation of civil society organizations exposing its failures. The Mallam Ribadu-led National Security office has issued a letter condemning Amnesty International’s report on insecurity while absurdly inviting the organization to a meeting to “review” its findings.
The report, titled “Mounting Death Toll and Looming Humanitarian Crisis Amid Unchecked Attacks by Armed Groups,” lays bare the catastrophic insecurity crisis in our nation, particularly in the middle belt. Amnesty International reports that over 450,000 people in Benue and 65,000 in Plateau have been forcibly displaced, many now reduced to begging, stripped of their ability to farm or return to their homes.
This alarming report details the relentless horrors in Plateau and Benue, where entire communities have been obliterated, and critical infrastructures including clinics, boreholes, schools, grain reserves, and places of worship has been destroyed. Furthermore, gunmen have attacked and sacked 672 villages across Benue, Borno, Katsina, Sokoto, Plateau, and Zamfara.
In the two years since President Tinubu took office, we have witnessed the disturbing rise of new terrorist groups, such as Lakurawa in Sokoto and Kebbi state and Mamuda in Kwara state, as highlighted by Amnesty. The statistics are shocking, Benue state has recorded the highest number of deaths at 6,896, with Plateau following closely behind at 2,630.
Recent reports by the Guardian indicate that local officials, including Victor Omnin, chairman of the Gwer West local government in Benue, reported that 10 people were killed in a Saturday attack on the villages of Tyolaha and Tse-Ubiam, and another 32 were killed the following day in nearby Ahume and Aondona villages. If Amnesty International had included these figures, the death toll would surpass even the already staggering numbers reported.
In response to these escalating killings, a joint declaration from the Tor Tiv and the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council, His Royal Majesty Prof. James Iorzua Ayatse, and the Och’Idoma, His Royal Majesty Chief John Elaigwu Odogbo, issued a 14-day ultimatum for herders to vacate Benue State.
With all these overwhelming facts before us, it is appalling that the NSA would dare to label such a critical report as “misleading.” This only underscores the administration’s blatant disregard for ending the rampant insecurity plaguing our nation.
The government of Tinubu should prioritize rescuing the terror-ravaged communities, rather than attacking critics, and civil society organizations like Amnesty International, calling for an end to the bloodletting in the country.
Sanyaolu Juwon
National Coordinator,
Take It Back Movement
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