Lawyer urges Tinubu to intervene as insecurity in Benue worsens

A prominent legal practitioner and justice advocate, Barrister Aida Nath Ogwuche, has written an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging immediate and decisive action to address the escalating wave of violence and insecurity engulfing Benue.

In the letter titled “Benue Is Bleeding,” Ogwuche paints a grim picture of widespread killings, kidnappings, and displacement, particularly in rural farming communities.

The appeal follows a recent brutal attack in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area, where over 200 people reportedly lost their lives.

“Benue, once Nigeria’s food basket, is now fast becoming a graveyard due to unchecked violence and government inaction,” Ogwuche wrote.

She lamented the collapse of security that has forced residents to flee their ancestral homes and abandon farmlands in fear.

Ogwuche described the deteriorating security situation as an existential crisis that has crippled livelihoods and pushed many into hopelessness.

“Our roads are overrun by armed assailants; travel has become a death sentence,” she noted, adding that even farmers can no longer safely tend to their fields during the crucial planting season.

Calling on President Tinubu to urgently intervene, Ogwuche outlined several recommendations, including immediate deployment of additional security forces to Benue State regional collaboration with neighboring states to secure borders.

She also urged the President to strengthen intelligence gathering and community-based prevention strategies and declare a state of emergency in the hardest-hit areas.

Ogwuche’s plea underscores growing frustration among citizens and civic leaders over the government’s perceived inaction in the face of sustained attacks in the Middle Belt.