Irked by the recent spate of killings of hundreds of persons and wanton destruction of property in Benue State, in North Central Nigeria, a seasoned journalist and security analyst, Mr Folorunsho Atta, has urged the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to as a matter of urgency, sack the National Security Adviser, NSA, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu and other security chiefs, over what he described as abysmal security failure and for failing to live up to their constitutional mandate.
A visibly vexed Atta disclosed that the premeditated killing spree in Benue State could have been prevented if the NSA and those heads of security had their eyes on the ball and their ears close to the ground.
According to him, there was a lukewarm and lackadaisical handling of the previous killings in Benue State by the NSA and the heads of other relevant security agencies.
He said: “Between April and June this year, 2025, no fewer than four such grotesque massacres were carried out and committed by criminals in the same pattern as last weekend’s incident in Yelwata. If those who killed some months back and operated in a commando style had been tackled, there would not have been this heartbreaking reoccurrence. The previous killings in April and May should have prepared the NSA and the security chiefs for a premonition of more killings to come.
“The NSA, IGP and the DG DSS must be held responsible. The military could be excused as they would, traditionally, move in based on intelligence reports from the other three men. Coming on the heels of the killings in Yelwata, we had the massacres of Gwer West and Kwande LGAs killings where over 125 persons were brutally killed in the villages of Tyolaha, Tse-Ubiam, Ahume and Aondona in the two local government areas.
Amongst the victims were pregnant women and children. These killings at separate times between April and June this year should have served as a warning to undercover agents from the NSA office, DSS and the Police, that the state has become a slaughter slab for those who want to exterminate the owners of the land to take over their God-given inheritance.”
While urging the President to act swiftly and decisively by getting rid of the security chiefs, Atta said failure to do so by the President would not only lead to more bloodshed in the country, but could affect his ruling APC party’s in the near future.
