Benue Killings: Middle Belt Youth Forum Condemns Buhari’s Silence After Recent Attacks

• Youths in the Middle Belt region have berated President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to comment on the recent killings in Benue state
• According to a youth group in the region, the silence from the presidency is deliberate and prompted by bias
• In the last few days, Benue state has come under attacks from terrorist groups who have been terrorizing many states of the federation

Makurdi - The Middle Belt Youth Forum has called out President Muhammadu Buhari over his refusal to condole with the people and government of Benue state over the recent killings in Tarka local government area of the state.

Sixteen (16) persons were recently murdered in the area while eight persons were also killed in Mbadwem in Guma local government area of Benue recently.

President of the forum, Terrence Kuanum in a statement, said the  renewed killings of Benue people have consistently resumed in recent times with silence from the federal government led by President Buhari 

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He said the same federal government that is always quick to console Plateau, Zamfara, and Kaduna when similar killings happen shows that the Benue killings are politicized.

Part of the statement read:

"Governor Samuel Ortom's opposition to the federal government’s attitude to the killings of his people pitches him against the Miyetti Allah groups who are determined to acquire the entire Benue state for their kinsmen to occupy.

"The federal government has always ignored the antics of these groups either by direct confrontation, blackmail, or the use of proxies to compel Governor Ortom to repeal the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.

''At every peace and security meeting, Miyetti Allah representatives and their allies in government always push for the amendment or outright repeal of the law.

"Sensing the determination of the Benue state government to continue with the enforcement of the law, those merchants of death have deployed their plan B which is to visit the state with more killings.

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"A direct manifestation of the orchestrated palm is the ongoing unprovoked attacks on our communities by terrorist groups who have been killing scores of people and destroying farmlands as well as other property worth billions of naira.

"Being the proactive leader that he is, Governor Ortom and other leaders of the Middle Belt wasted no time in calling on President Buhari to end the killing of his people 

"As an umbrella body of Middle Belt  youths, we want to put it on record in unmistakable terms on this day 13th March 2022 that we are solidly behind Governor Ortom in his call on President Buhari to declare the Miyetti Allah Kauta Ho*re as terrorists 

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Insecurity: Buhari asked to resign by Northern Elders Forum

Recall that the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) recently demanded the immediate resignation of President Buhari, over the raging killings across the country, especially in the north.

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The spokesman of NEF, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, made the call on Tuesday, April 12, saying the forum took the decision over the raging killings across the country, especially in northern Nigeria.

The forum said it will be a monumental disaster to allow the president to remain in power until May 2023.

Soldiers on red alert in Abuja over alleged planned attack by terrorists

Meanwhile, Nigerian soldiers have been placed on red alert following an intelligence report of a planned terror attack on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

According to a recent report, troops have been specifically deployed to villages and area councils located along the Abuja/Lokoja expressway namely Abaji, Kwali, and Gwagwalada.

Some of the soldiers are already on condone and search operations at Giri close to the University of Abuja where they mounted security checkpoints on all entry/exit points into the FCT.

Source: Legit.ng