By Joseph Ode
AVM Monday Riku Morgan (rtd), former Director of Nigerian Defence Intelligence, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to launch a concerted push to stamp out the security crisis ravaging the country. He said such action should include Federal Security Reinforcement through full federal deployment to Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) that are well-equipped with personnel, logistics, and actionable intelligence support. He said the President should also consider issuing a direct federal intervention order mandating the NSA and Defence Headquarters to assess and fortify all FOBs in Benue State; re-engaging community security volunteers under regulated state–federal collaboration; and sending a clear national message that no part of Nigeria will be allowed to fall into sustained lawlessness.
Speaking in his capacity as the National Co-ordinator of Benue Rebirth Movement (BRM) in a message to welcome the President on a commiseration visit to Benue State on Wednesday, AVM Morgan said: “The National Security Agencies should consider supporting the development of community defence infrastructure across vulnerable LGAs — training, communication systems, surveillance drones, and rapid response tools. Equally important is the need for government and political leaders to de-politicize the crisis. Underplaying the massacres and failing to engage sincerely with the affected communities are worsening tensions.”
Tracing the genesis of the security crisis in Benue State, the retired pilot said the problem had 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. “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.”
The BRM National Co-ordinator commended the President for establishing the national Forest Guards, saying that its careful implementation, assisted by retired generals in all the geopolitical zones will eventually help flush out the mercenaries hiding in the forests. He called on the state government to reactivate the state’s most effective local security structures — Operation Zenda and other volunteer community-based security agencies— as they are instrumental in grassroots surveillance and early warning responses.
