“These Criminals Were Given Food, Women, Shelter by the Community” – Defence Chief on Benue Killings

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has accused residents of Yelwata in Benue State of aiding the perpetrators of the recent massacre that claimed over 100 lives. Speaking at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja during a media briefing, Musa said members of the community harboured the attackers, provided them with food and women, and guided them to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp targeted in the attack.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, during a condolence visit to Benue on Wednesday, ordered security agencies to track down those behind the deadly assault. Musa revealed that troops had earlier been mobilised based on intelligence of potential threats to other communities, but the actual attack in Yelwata was carried out using a hit-and-run approach, catching both civilians and security forces off-guard.

“These criminals were harboured by people in the community. They were given food. They were even given women. They were guided on where the IDP camp was located. Yet, security forces received no information,” the Defence Chief said. “This is why we consistently urge communities to be vigilant and report suspicious activities. Security is everyone’s responsibility.”

He added that all national security forces have been fully activated on the President’s orders and that those responsible for the Yelwata killings will be brought to justice. Musa also highlighted the threat posed by Nigeria’s porous borders, which he said allow arms and fighters from war-torn countries like Sudan, Libya and the Central African Republic to enter the country. He urged Nigeria to take cues from nations like Pakistan, which has fortified its borders to prevent infiltration.

Deputy Director of Defence Media Operations, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Abu-Mawashi, said during the same briefing that 6,260 terrorists and criminals were neutralised nationwide in the past two years. He said 14,138 suspects were arrested and 5,365 civilians rescued during various joint operations.

According to Abu-Mawashi, 1,246 terrorists were killed in the North East, 1,374 bandits in the North West, 730 terrorists in the North Central region, 440 in the South East under Operation Udoka, and 80 criminals in the South West. Operations in the Niger Delta led to the recovery of N83 billion worth of stolen crude and the arrest of over 2,700 suspects.

Brigadier-General Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, reaffirmed the Armed Forces’ commitment to transparency and collaboration with civilians. He said this approach is in line with General Musa’s leadership vision of fostering a people-centric military.

At the Civil-Military Relations Conference held earlier, General Musa acknowledged that deep-rooted suspicion and mistrust have hampered cooperation between civilians and the military. “The military has been seen not as a partner in progress, but as an occupying force, alien to the people it is meant to serve and protect,” he noted.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who was the Special Guest of Honour, echoed these concerns. He said the military is often perceived as a force of aggression rather than a national institution working for the people. “It is time for Nigerians to see the military as an integral part of our national family—not an occupying force, but a force for good, for protection, and for progress,” he said.

In a related development, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame reported that the Nigerian Air Force had destroyed a bomb-making factory used by terrorists in Borno State. He said the precision airstrikes, carried out under Operation Hadin Kai, followed credible intelligence and have significantly disrupted the terrorists’ logistics and command structures.

Meanwhile, security analyst Bulama Bukarti has urged the federal government to officially classify the Benue massacre as an act of terrorism. Speaking on Channels Television, he argued that the scale, planning and brutality of the attacks bear all the hallmarks of terrorism. “What we are witnessing in Benue today is terrorism. It works like terrorism, it talks like terrorism, and it kills like terrorism,” he said, warning that downplaying such incidents only deepens the crisis.