From Attah Ede, Makurdi

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa to immediately arrest killer herders who perpetrated the heinous killing of over 100 people in Yelewata community in Benue State.

Tinubu gave the directive while addressing stakeholders at the Government House, Markudi. The meeting included the Secretary to the Federal Government, George Akume, Traditional Rulers and former Governors of the state.The governors of Kwara, Imo, Kogi, Plateau, Ondo and Nasarawa also attended the meeting.Tinubu called out the Inspector General of Police to know why arrests have not been made.”How come no one has been arrested for committing this heinous crime in Yelewata. Inspector General of Police, where are the arrests? The criminals must be arrested immediately,” President Tinubu said.He urged the heads of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to intensify surveillance and gather actionable intelligence to apprehend the perpetrators.He told the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, of the need for vigilance and collaboration between communities and security forces.Advising Governor Alia on the importance of stakeholder management for peaceful and progressive governance, the President urged the governor to set up a peace committee in the state that will include former governors of Benue, elders, traditional rulers, federal government officials, and non-indigenes living in the state.”Let us meet again in Abuja. Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,” he said.President Tinubu urged Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State to allocate land for ranching and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up.He called for blood donations to support the injured receiving treatment at the Benue State Teaching Hospital, where he had earlier visited victims and medical staff.While underscoring the importance of peace for sustainable development, Tinubu implored the Governor to ensure Benue is peaceful, adding that the circumstances of his visit this time should not have been a reason to visit.”I wanted to come here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces. But peace is vital to development,” he said.”The value of human life is greater than that of a cow. We were elected to govern, not to bury people”, he stressed.He charged Governor Alia with working with the federal government to restore peace.”Governor Alia, you were elected under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You are not elected to bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work with us.”Not everyone will like you in politics. They hate me, too—like hell. But here I am, still your President. I made a promise to protect democracy, freedom, and prosperity, even for my abusers and accusers. That’s leadership,” the President emphasised.In his remarks, Governor Hyacinth Alia appealed to the Federal Government to establish a Special Intervention Fund for communities affected by repeated violent attacks across Benue State.”Your Excellency, while we continue to mourn our losses and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the Federal Government to consider establishing a special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State,” he said.Governor Alia said the fund would support the rehabilitation of displaced persons, reconstruction of destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the restoration of livelihoods, especially for farmers.He reiterated his support for establishing state police as a lasting solution to insecurity.The Governor pledged his administration’s full commitment to building a safe, stable, prosperous Benue State.Also speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council, Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh Prof. James Ayatse, praised President Tinubu for being the first sitting President to personally visit victims in the hospital in the wake of such a tragedy.He thanked the President for appointing notable Benue indigenes into key positions, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, while expressing hope that more appointments would follow.On the recurring spate of insecurity in the state, the monarch took time to address misinformation and mischaracterisation, saying that land grabbing is at the core of the decades-long conflict.”Your Excellency, it is not herder-farmer clashes. It is not communal clashes. It is not reprisal attacks or skirmishes. What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder-terrorists and bandits.”He cautioned that mischaracterizing the crisis had led to inadequate responses and accused some political actors of exploiting the situation for selfish gain.”We hear that some politicians would even prefer that the crisis worsens, so it would serve as a basis for declaring a state of emergency. This is unfortunate. Any politician who prays for more people to die for such a project is working against the wishes of the people of Benue State,” he said.He therefore appealed to President Tinubu to restore peace to the state and every part of Nigeria.”All we ask of you, sir, is to stop our weeping. Give us peace in Benue State, so our people, primarily farmers, can return to their farms and continue to produce food for Nigeria.”I heard a story about a challenge in a place in Kwara State, and you rose and gave them peace in Kaiama. You can do that for Benue.”Give Nigerians Permanent Peace, Tor Tiv Tells TinubuThe paramount ruler of Tiv nation and Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, has told President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to swiftly move to end the incessant killings across the country, saying that the president has capacity and ability to restore permanent peace in Benue and Nigeria as a whole.Tor Tiv maintained that his people had made a lot of sacrifices to keep Nigeria as one entity and should not be isolated for extermination.He lamented that genocide is ongoing Benue, saying that it is not clashes, but a well-orchestrated, well-coordinated attack aimed at wiping out Benue people.According to him, Benue people are predominantly farmers who deserve absolute peace to continue with their farming activities.“Tiv people have been in Nasarawa State before the 18th century. They cannot be settlers. They need to go back to their ancestral homes to continue with their lives. The farmers had been chased away from their farms by the bloodthirsty invaders.“We know you are a courageous leader. You are a focused leader. You are a determined leader. You have the courage and the political will to end this menace.‘You have taken hard decisions and actions that many people before you did not dare.“You have handled the subsidy removal challenge of this country. The exchange rate investment decisions, you have taken them. I believe you can give us peace. All we ask of you is peace,” he said