₦airaland Forum

The Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has pushed forward the training of credible youths across Benue State as vigilantes working under the supervision of the military, as was done in Borno State, to defend local communities against terrorist attacks.

The CDS stated this call at a meeting with traditional rulers in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Tuesday.

He urged the traditional rulers to put a check on any criminal elements within their domains as he will not tolerate any act of sabotage while working to ensure the protection of Benue communities.

Meanwhile, the Nasarawa State govenror, Abdullahi Sule, visited his brother governor Hyacinth Alia to commiserate with the people of Benue over Yelewata attacks.

Sule urged both states to close ranks and nip the killings in the bud, as he announced the donation of ₦150 million to support Benue internally displaced persons.

The defense chief who has been in the state since Monday had said the military would change strategy to combat the acts of terror.

Benue, a food-producing state in Nigeria’s North-Central zone, has been under heavy attacks by suspected herdsmen for some time. The killings have lingered for years, with some linking it to inter-communal conflicts as well as the quest for land dominance between the autochthonous agrarian dwellers and nomadic cattle rearers.

However, the killings in the last few weeks have been without a break. At least over 160 residents were confirmed killed in a series of attacks by suspected herdsmen who wreaked havoc in different communities in the state within two months.

Last Friday, at least 59 residents of the Yelewata area in the state were killed and over 3000 persons displaced during an overnight attack by suspected herdsmen.

The killings in Benue have attracted national outrage and global attention from Pope Leo XIV who condemned the “terrible massacre” and called for an end to it.

On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu charged Governor Hyacinth Alia with convening reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.

Billed to visit the troubled state on Wednesday, the President also ordered the service chiefs including CDS Musa to immediately end the killings of innocent citizens.

On Monday, CDS Musa and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun toured the troubled scenes and ordered field commanders from neighbouring Nasarawa State to review their operational strategies and deal decisively with any act of terrorism in the state.

“We are tired of innocent souls being killed, and we’re here to ensure that we address such. I’ll be going to see my commanders and we have to change our strategy.

“We’re going to look inward and see how we can address it, but as we mentioned, we cannot do it alone without the community, without the state.

“We need everybody to be part of it. We understand that even before now we used to have even within us people that compromise and give information because going around, you see the way some of the burnings were made, were targeted and which means they were insiders and so, I’ve discussed with the communities, the traditional rulers, with the clergy for us to work united,” CSD Musa had said.

Reno Omokri has defended his support for President Bola Tinubu, stating that the president is currently delivering on key reforms initially proposed by the Peoples Democratic Party.

In a statement obtained by PUNCH Online on Tuesday, Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, criticised the media team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for what he described as “unwarranted attacks” against him, despite his continued respect for Atiku.

“There is absolutely no reason for those around Waziri Atiku Abubakar to fight with someone who only has the utmost respect for the former Vice President and has never had an unkind word to say about him overtly or covertly,” Omokri said.

Explaining his political stance, he declared his support for Tinubu, attributing it to the administration’s implementation of long-promised PDP policies.

He noted,”Yes, I support President Bola Tinubu and forcefully so because he is delivering the results we in the Peoples Democratic Party said we were going to achieve: fuel subsidy removal, Naira flotation, devolution of power, and loans to students.

“Our goal is Nigeria’s progress.”

Omokri argued that Nigeria’s progress should not be tied to political party affiliation.

“It does not matter if the cat is Black or White, as long as it catches mice, and it matters not if the party in power is APC or PDP, as long as it delivers progress for the Nigerian nation.”

Drawing parallels between Tinubu and Atiku, Omokri noted,”President Bola Tinubu and Waziri Atiku are both of the 1989 Social Democratic Party stock, and there is little or no difference between them.”

He also addressed concerns about his loyalty and integrity, saying, “In the course of working to actualise the vision of Waziri Atiku Abubakar, I have never betrayed confidential information … and I never will.

Despite what happened after 2023, nobody can say I have attempted to profit privately or publicly from such confidences.”

While reacting to the alleged hostility from Atiku’s camp, Omokri expressed disappointment saying,”To therefore attack me, when I have never even as much as said one negative word about Waziri or his immediate coterie, is most unkind.

“Nevertheless, I will not respond in kind.”

He concluded by reaffirming his decision to maintain his stance out of respect, not fear.


“I choose to suffer the insults hurled at me without any retaliation.

“I am only observing restraint out of respect, not out of cowardice.”

Omokri also noted his willingness to continue defending President Tinubu against political rivals.

“As long as Obi takes on President Tinubu, I will tackle him,” the former aide concluded.

Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has disclosed that he almost joined the presidential race following the June 12 pro-democracy struggle.

He, however, said he dismissed the idea after 36 hours of serious contemplation, describing it as “crazy.”

Soyinka made the revelation on Saturday during an interaction with journalists at Freedom Park, Lagos, at an event themed “June 12: Romancing the Embers.”

The engagement came on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s conferment of national honours on some individuals deemed heroes of the June 12 movement.

When asked why he did not contest for power during the transition programmes that followed the annulled 1993 presidential election, Soyinka said he never saw himself as a politician and only briefly considered the option before backing out.

“I did not; I was not interested; I wanted to go back to my writing; I wanted to go back to where I belong; I am not a politician.

“I must confess, however, that for about 36 hours, I did decide that we have a responsibility and I nearly accepted the nomination to run for office of President.

“After 36 hours, I said, ‘Wole Soyinka, you dey craze.’ Then I said, let me go back to what I love doing,” he said.

The playwright also came down hard on individuals who, in his view, trivialise the significance of the June 12 struggle, describing them as the real enemies of democracy.

“There are still a lot of misconceptions about June 12, even among those who participated, which is normal.

“When you have a movement like June 12, people come with different motivations. Some joined just to settle scores; some joined because they felt belittled or dehumanised by the conduct of the military. Others joined because they are against any form of dictatorship,” he said.

He added, “Many negative things have been written. I want it understood that we had betrayals, lots of inconsistencies, and a lot of opportunistic membership.

“We had treachery that cost many lives and pauperised hundreds. We had retributive activities even continuing after the termination of that particular regime.

“People now assume different roles, pretending and using the transition period.

“June 12 did not begin on June 12 and did not terminate on June 12. Many people—even when they want to settle political scores today, maybe over thwarted ambitions—try to trivialise June 12, instead of leaving June 12 alone. You didn’t participate, and nobody forced you to participate—leave June 12 alone.”

He said those who trivialised June 12 because of thwarted political ambition were the worst kind of enemies of democracy.

“If you see anybody making false claims, they have a right. It is your responsibility to say, ‘I know something about it; it didn’t go this way; the truth is this and that.’ That is legitimate.

“But those who invoke it just to trivialise June 12 because of thwarted political ambition are the worst kind of enemies of democracy.”

Soyinka said the ideals of the June 12 movement must continue to be preserved and promoted through public remembrance, civic engagement, and formal recognition of those who sacrificed for the country’s democracy.

“June 12, therefore, must be sustained through reminders, occasions, gatherings, other civic activities, and through formal recognitions of those who passed away in the movement,” he said.

The Nobel laureates acknowledged that there were some omissions in the honours list of the President.

“I listened to Kayode Fayemi. There were indeed some misses in the honours list. But we should accept the fact that for any struggle so multi-dimensional—one that cuts across the nation, professions, the military itself, academia, market women, factory workers, and so on—those of us honoured should be seen as mere representatives of that movement,” he said.

Soyinka also berated some Nigerian youths who dismissed the significance of June 12, describing such attitudes as ignorant and irresponsible.

He said, “Over half of Nigerians were not born as of June 12, 1993. It could be misinterpreted. Why should June 12 be considered important at this time?

“The youths should learn to shut their mouths if they are ignorant. When they don’t know anything, they have a choice—to not talk about it or be curious, do research, and ask questions: Who is this person? Why did it happen? Who was involved?”

Soyinka further attributed misconceptions about the importance of the June 12 struggle and other liberty struggles of the nation to deliberate efforts to exterminate the teaching of history.

Soyinka added, “If they don’t want to do either, then they become enemies of history, enemies of truth. In addition, society has the responsibility to make sure they have access to materials, the truth.

“That is why I keep reiterating that the crime against youth, against education, was committed by the government at the time when it eliminated history from the curriculum.

“There is also the responsibility to use these materials so that even if it is fiction, at least it is there and may spark interest.

“We didn’t just dismiss the past. We were curious about what happened during the British era, before independence. What happened at the very beginning of that colonial adventure?

“The youth have a responsibility to be curious and not just open their mouths and blab and dismiss everything. That is irresponsibility. We were responsible and curious to learn.”