By Ayomide Otitoju
President Bola Tinubu has announced plans to form a high-level leadership committee to address the persistent security crisis in Benue State, following a deadly attack in Yelwata that claimed over 50 lives.
During a visit to Makurdi on Wednesday, Tinubu proposed the inclusion of traditional leaders such as the Tor Tiv V and the Och’Idoma, alongside other stakeholders, to form a peace committee that will meet in Abuja and chart a path to sustainable peace in the state.
“I will want us to create this leadership committee now and then we meet in Abuja to really fashion out the nucleus for a lasting peace, and I’m ready to invest in that peace,” Tinubu said during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Banquet Hall of the Government House.
The president emphasized unity among Nigerians in confronting the country’s security challenges and assured Benue residents of his commitment to transforming “tragedy to prosperity.”
He also issued a directive to the country’s service chiefs and Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to track down and apprehend the perpetrators of the Yelwata massacre.
“How come no arrest has been made?” Tinubu queried. “I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals… Let’s get those criminals, let’s get them out.”
Before the meeting, Tinubu visited victims of the Yelwata attack receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital.
The meeting was attended by Governor Hyacinth Alia, other state governors, the Tor Tiv V, service chiefs, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, among others.
