Benue Killings: Army chief vows to apprehend perpetrators, end violence

The Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, has assured that the Nigerian Army will hunt down and bring to justice all those behind the recent killings and attacks in Benue and Plateau states, as well as other parts of the country.

Mr Oluyede, a lieutenant general, gave the assurance while declaring open a media chat organised by the Nigerian Army Department of Civil-Military Affairs in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Saturday.

The event was themed “Media Collaboration: Panacea for Enhanced National Security and Development.”

Over a hundred people were killed by some unknown persons in Yelewata community in Benue State.

President Bola Tinubu visited the state last Wednesday during which he directed the security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.

Mr Oluyede, who was represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2 Division Nigerian Army, Obinna Onubogu, a major general, said, “We shall go after them, and by God’s grace, we will get them.”

The COAS said the military is fully committed to ending the spate of violence and will not allow Nigeria’s territorial integrity or internal security to be compromised by criminal elements.

“The Nigerian Army has remained engaged in Plateau, in Benue, in Kwara — in quite a number of states that are experiencing insecurity,” he said.

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“In Benue particularly, you will see, in the coming weeks, very elaborate security arrangements to ensure that all that is going on there completely stops.”

The army chief noted that while some of the attacks are attributed to herders, there is growing concern that some perpetrators may not even be Nigerians.

“We are mindful that some of these people may be foreign elements,” he further said.

“The behaviour we are seeing is utterly despicable, the way they go about their work. It does not reflect any kind of national identity or value system,” he stated.

Mr Oluyede emphasised that the military had received clear directives from President Tinubu to act decisively.

“The president has given very clear orders for us to go out there. And so we are out, fully deployed and tackling the menace head-on.”

He appealed to communities and local stakeholders to support military operations by sharing timely intelligence.

He said, “The Army cannot be everywhere at once. Nigeria is a vast country, and we are not as large in number as many people believe. We rely heavily on the support and cooperation of the local population to provide timely and credible information.

“In some cases, unfortunately, the people are not very helpful in terms of the information they give out, which delays our reaction time. That must change if we are to win this fight together.”

Sensational reporting

On combating misinformation and sensational reporting, Mr Oluyede called on media personnel to verify facts before publication and help build national unity.

“The social media space, especially, is flooded with misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies. That is part of why we are here — to clarify issues and appeal to the press to reach out to us before putting out unverified stories,” he added.

The media chat featured two lectures with topics, “Enhancing Information for National Security and Development: Nigerian Military Operations in Perspective” and “Effective Information Management and National Security: Focus On Multi-stakeholders’ Approach.”

It also allowed journalists to express their concerns about the activities of the military in terms of information dissemination relating to the fight against insecurity.