Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The National Intelligence Watch, NIW, has raised an alarm that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume has commended plots to initiate fresh deadly attacks on the twenty three local governments in Benue state.
This is coming after President Bola Tinubu personally visited the state and cautioned all the warring factions to seek for peace and security of lives and properties of Benue people.
The NIM this afternoon issued a press statement through its National Coordinator, Retired AVM Abdusalam Waziri, saying that a reliable Intel at its disposal indicated that the SGF held a meeting with some militants who are of the Tiv clan immediately after he returned to Abuja a day ago.
The Intelligence group said that the SGF proposed that they should gather more militants from Tiv and work together with some Fulani herders to attack all the twenty three local governments in the state.
The group wondered why fresh attacks were being planned even after President Bola Tinubu had issued a warning that both Governor Hyacinth Alia and Senator George Akume should ensure permanent peace during his visit to the state two days ago.
Tha National Intelligence Watch pressed further that it’s Akume’s plan to use the fresh deadly attacks to further mount pressures on the President to declare a State of Emergency despite that the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse who spoke during the last Town Hall Meeting pointed it out that an Emergency Rule wasn’t the solution to the killings but a maximum cooperation with the State Government by the stakeholders.
Recall that Prof. James Ayatse had at the Town Hall meeting said that there were some politicians who wished that the killings should not stop so that they could use it as a basis to call for a State of Emergency.
Speaking further in the statement this afternoon, The National Intelligence Watch referred to a video which has gone viral where it was alleged that the SGF has been holding secret meetings with Tiv militants with an instruction that they should work with the Fulani herders in Makurdi to freshly attack the entire state.
The group however pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to remove Akume as SGF and allow Governor Hyacinth Alia to nominate another person for the position.
The group also urged the president to shelf the idea of reconciling both Alia and Akume, noting that the people of Benue State won’t accept a relationship between the two of them again.
According to the group, the people of Benue love Tinubu and will vote for him massively in 2027 if he can allow Governor Alia to stay away from Senator George Akume whom they said will never allow the governor to concentrate if they come together as one.
“We are raising this alarm today following that video (posted below) that some Tiv millitants have regrouped with some deadly Fulani herders to attack Benue state once again. We also want to say it out that the Tiv people according to the Video do not really want Akume again so President Bola Tinubu should quickly ask Father Hyacinth Alia to bring another person as SGF since the former governor (Akume) doesn’t want to use his position to help Benue but rather use the same position to fuel insecurity” the group said .