Northern group to Buhari: Declare state of emergency in Benue, 3 others over Farmers-herdsmen clash

The northern coalition groups has asked the federal government to declare state of emergency in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna and Zamfara through a message sent to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Nation reports that Abdulazeez Suleiman who is the spokesperson of the group gave this position on Tuesday, February 13.

He claimed the herdsmen-farmers clash was being used to exploit religious and ethnic differences in the north in order to destabilise the region.


The group called on the federal government to appoint sole administrators to run the four states as political leaders of the states have failed to restore peace.

“We nevertheless believe that the current spate of killings and unrests are not isolated incidents but are linked to a grand design to destabilize the North and bring her people to their knees by dividing them along artificial lines through exploiting ethnic and religious differences.

“For too long, enemies of the North, both foreign and local have worked strenuously to ensure that the region remains backward, divided, weak, confused and bewildered by myriads of challenges and problems.

“In the pursuit of this occasional misunderstandings dating back more than five centuries which were ordinarily resolved at the community level, are today manipulated and turned into avenues for the venting of pent-up tribal and religious jealousies resulting in heavy loss of lives and valuable resources.

“The escalation of hitherto existing challenges like the herdsmen and farmers clashes which have sporadically and intermittently been going on for time immemorial, is one aspects of the plan to destabilize the North and decapitate it through exploiting internal weaknesses and cleavages.


“It is no longer in doubt that the general and pervasive insecurity currently being experienced across the Northern region are part of a mega but clandestine plot spanning several years.

“We condemn with all our might the actions of those who perpetrate criminal acts anywhere in Nigeria and strongly denounce those who instigate others to commit acts of violence and lawlessness.

“We see the reluctance and lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government to act promptly at the initial stages of the conflicts as the primary factor responsible for the deterioration of the situation.

“We call on the Federal Government to declare state of emergency in the front line states of Taraba, Kaduna, Benue and Zamfara, suspend the current political structures in these states and replace them with sole administrators until conditions improve.

“We call on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to disband all militias and armed groups in Nigeria by resort to the use of force if needs be, to ensure that no group has the capacity to challenge the State in its prerogative to maintain law and order, and protect citizens’ lives and properties.

“With regards to the crises in the North, government should take further steps to ensure that both farmers and herdsmen are given adequate protection by state agencies.

“We ask that the Presidency, Northern Federal Legislators and Northern Governors show more zeal and effort at protecting the lives and property of pastoral communities everywhere, and ensuring their right to free movement is not impeded by any legislation or obstacle imposed by a state or a community. The days of being politically correct are over.

“The Federal and State Governments in the North must deal decisively with the threat of drug and substance abuse across Nigeria and in the North in particular. We reiterate that this trend is fueled to a large extent by outside interests that aim to dislocate the social cohesion of the North, and create a class of aimless and dehumanized individuals who will forever remain a burden on the society.

Individuals associated with such groups or organizations that incite others to violations must be decisively dealt with. In that regard, we remind the government of our earlier patriotic advice for the enactment of appropriate laws to deal with all manifestations of hate speech from any quarter” he said.

Ripped: naija.ng

Do me a Favour: Please share this post on Facebook, Twitter or other Social Networks you use below. I'll really appreciate.