President Bola Tinubu has directed Nigeria’s security chiefs to fully implement his earlier mandate to ensure lasting peace and security in Benue State, following fresh reprisal attacks that claimed several lives.
In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu confirmed that intelligence operatives, police, and military forces have already been deployed to the troubled region.
The president also urged Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, not Hyacinth Alia, to urgently initiate reconciliation talks among farmers, herders, and local communities to end the cycle of violence and bloodshed.
“Political and community leaders in Benue must avoid inflammatory remarks that may worsen tensions,” the statement read. “Governor Alia must now act as a statesman and lead peace efforts to foster coexistence through fairness, justice, and openness.”
This directive comes as Nigeria grapples with repeated clashes in Benue, a state plagued by longstanding conflicts between farming communities and herdsmen.
