In response to the gruesome killing of over 200 people in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, the National Youth Stakeholders Forum (NYSF) has issued a strong statement calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately address growing insecurity and alleged sabotage within Nigeria’s security forces.
The Forum, which represents youth leaders, student unions, and civil society groups across Nigeria, decried the persistent attacks by armed Fulani terrorists, stating that affected communities have been left helpless while invaders destroy lives and property unchecked.
Citing recent revelations by Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, regarding possible insider sabotage within the military, the group condemned the recruitment of repentant Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters into the armed forces and demanded their immediate withdrawal.
“It is unacceptable that terrorists are being enlisted while patriotic Nigerians are denied enlistment. This is a grave injustice and a threat to national security,” the group said.
The Forum urged the President to declare emergency martial law in terrorism-ravaged regions and initiate the recruitment of local forest guards to boost ground-level security. They also proposed the establishment of a National Joint Regional Security Task Force to work alongside conventional forces.
In a direct appeal ahead of the President’s visit to Benue today, the group called for concrete reforms, including better intelligence funding, improved welfare for security personnel, prosecution of complicit officers, and lasting solutions to land-related conflicts.
“What the people of Benue need is not reconciliation with terrorists, but justice, protection, and the right to live and farm in peace,” the NYSF emphasized.
The statement was signed by key national figures including Ambassador Samuel Adegbola (Secretary General), Mazi Barr Chidiebere Nwodo (Publicity Secretary), Ambassador Dogo Shagari (Chairman), and Aare Oladotun Hassan Esq (Founder and National Leader).
As insecurity escalates across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, the Forum warned that inaction and internal betrayal risk plunging the nation further into chaos. They stressed that the time for rhetoric is over, and decisive leadership is now a matter of national survival.