ABUJA, NIGERIA — June 19, 2025 | By IDNN National Affairs Desk
As the death toll from the Yelwata massacre in Benue State rises, national institutions and civil society are escalating demands for a full security overhaul and the establishment of community-led defence initiatives.
In separate statements, the Nigerian Senate, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) described the violence as a systemic failure and called on President Tinubu to act with full executive force.
“We are tired of mourning,” said Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Senate spokesperson. “From Plateau to Benue to Zamfara, we keep burying our people.”
CDS MUSA CALLS FOR VIGILANTE MODEL
Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has proposed a community-policing strategy modeled after the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno.
“This is not something the military alone can fix. Communities must be involved,” Musa said during a meeting in Makurdi.
Musa advocated the recruitment and training of trustworthy youths as local vigilantes to protect against banditry and terror cells operating in Benue and neighboring Nasarawa.
PFN: “DECLARE EMERGENCY, END THE SLAUGHTER”
PFN President, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, issued a fiery statement calling the mass killings a national tragedy and an indictment of Nigeria’s current security structure.
“If any state deserves a state of emergency, it is Benue,” he declared.
He condemned attacks on IDP camps and warned against treating the killings as internal communal clashes.
“This is no ordinary conflict—it’s an organized invasion,” Oke added.
HURIWA BACKS SELF-DEFENCE STRUCTURE
In alignment with CDS Musa, HURIWA endorsed the creation of community-led vigilante units, trained under military supervision, with a framework grounded in human rights and legality.
The group also blasted state and federal leaders for weak enforcement of prior directives and called for full civilian-military intelligence collaboration.
CENTRE FOR CHANGE: THIS IS A FAILURE OF STATE
Dr. Joe Odumakin, President of Centre for Change, warned that the ongoing violence represents a “direct manifestation of state failure.”
“Mislabeling this crisis and playing politics with it will only lead to more deaths,” she said.
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