Between 23rd and 25th December 2023, bloodthirsty gunmen undertook a coordinated attack on the Bokos and Barkin-Ladi LGAs of Plateau State, murdering about 150 compatriots and displacing 10,000. The president assured that ‘these envoys of death, pain and sorrow will not escape justice’. The women justifiably went berserk and burnt down the palace of the king because the military responded and started blaming the victims instead of the terrorists. They also blamed the Adanchi for complacence or complicity. On 11/6/25, unknown terrorists murdered 58 and burnt 82 houses in Plateau State, and the governor later reported that bandits had taken over 64 communities in the state. The terrorists reportedly sacked, occupied and renamed those villages.
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While we await the ‘swift justice’, a worse scenario occurred between 13th and 14th June 2025 as gunmen attacked the Yelwata community in Benue State, burning and murdering about 200 compatriots. The Very Dark Man had shown the world what happened, and while a compound lost 40 people and a family lost 10 members, Governor Allia told us that ONLY 59 died. NEMA reports that a total of 6527 have been displaced. The governor explained how wonderfully well the president had done on Benue insecurity, as the number of LGAs controlled by terrorists had fallen from 17 to 3. He earlier told Benue people not to retaliate against these bandits; perhaps they should turn the other cheek. Furthermore, some protesting residents were dispersed and/or arrested by our gallant policemen. The president described it as a reprisal attack (the pope described it as a terrible massacre). directed security operatives to ‘act decisively and arrest perpetrators of these evil acts’ and charged the governor, a ‘chief security officer’ who does not command any security unit, to take charge and convene reconciliatory meetings. Asking governors to take charge is a new narrative, which was pioneered by Daniel Bwala a few weeks ago. Some wicked wailers, however, recalled where citizen Tinubu courageously stated that BH attacks evidenced a failure of intelligence, a failure of government, and that GEJ must take full responsibility.
“Some wicked wailers, however, recalled where citizen Tinubu courageously stated that BH attacks evidenced a failure of intelligence, a failure of government, and that GEJ must take full responsibility.”
About 160 persons had been slaughtered within the last month in Benue State, where the Catholic Church had closed 15 churches. As of June 3, 61 people were killed and over 200 houses razed in the Apa and Gwer LGAs of Benue. Amnesty International had reported that 10217 Nigerians were murdered and 672 villages sacked countrywide between 2023 and 2025. However, the president assures that security has improved significantly under his watch, while Ribadu, who agreed with him later, announced that insecurity affected 150m Nigerians. Things were so bad that Nicholas Ukachukwu, the Anambra APC gubernatorial candidate, had once requested 16 soldiers, 20 policemen and 12 DSS officers for his personal security.
So, what have we done and what should we do? Government and security officials have always assured that no stone would be left unturned and turned all the stones and do not have any peace again. The FG has always ordered the security people to ‘finish’ those terrorists, and now our security high command is in Makurdi. This is better than when the IGP ignored the presidential order to relocate and PMB confessed that he wasn’t aware. The government has also adopted the odious de-radicalisation policy in which ‘repentant BH members’ are treated with deodorant while their victims wallow in penury and dehumanisation. We also adopt the policy of concealment, as the NBC had ordered the media not to report details of terrorist attacks. Kaduna and Katsina State governments have negotiated with the self-acclaimed terrorists, despite the warning that ‘a government that negotiates with murderers while its people bleed has chosen cowardice over justice; that the greatest insult to the dead is a handshake with their killers’. The President, Gowon, and the Sultan had called for prayers, while Hope Uzodimma once adopted the begging option.
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Should we negotiate, beg, appease, conceal or pray? A bully does not listen to ‘abeg’. He will continue to bully once he has the capacity to bully. They only pipe down when the victim has the capacity to respond decisively or even preemptively. As long as they can easily inflict pain without consequences, pleas, negotiations and other such puerile strategies will not work. We need to ‘fire’ them so that they will be the ones begging for mercy. That is when they will be willing to talk; that is when negotiation will yield fruits.
Ik Muo, PhD Dept of Bus Admin, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, 08033026625
