By Peter Oriri
In a passionate and urgent appeal, Barrister Aida Nath Ogwuche, a prominent daughter of Benue State, has issued a clarion call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to take immediate and decisive action to address the escalating wave of violence and insecurity plaguing Benue communities.
In an open letter directed to the President through the Office of the Chief of Staff, Ogwuche described the deteriorating security situation in the state as “dire and heartbreaking,” emphasizing that countless lives are being lost while fear, displacement, and economic paralysis grip the state.
“Our people have nowhere else to turn,” she wrote. “Families are fleeing ancestral homes, roads are overrun by armed assailants, and our farmers—who feed the nation—are being slaughtered in their fields.”
The letter comes amidst reports of continued attacks by armed groups across rural Benue, with repeated cases of abductions, killings, and the destruction of farmlands. The crisis, which has persisted for years, has now reached what Ogwuche describes as “an alarming rate,” particularly dangerous during the current farming season, as fear drives many away from their only means of survival.
Highlighting the economic and humanitarian toll, she noted that the insecurity has not only claimed lives but has crippled agricultural productivity, further deepening poverty and dislocation in one of Nigeria’s food basket regions.
In her message to President Tinubu, Ogwuche outlined five urgent actions for the federal government to consider:
1. Deployment of additional security forces to the state to combat banditry and violent incursions.
2. Enhanced coordination with neighboring states to tighten border security and curb the movement of armed groups.
3. Boosted intelligence gathering and community engagement to pre-empt attacks and restore public confidence.
4. Implementation of long-term solutions addressing the root causes of the violence.
5. Declaration of a state of emergency in the worst-affected local government areas.
Ogwuche stressed that time is of the essence, asserting that “lives hang in the balance” and that the people of Benue “deserve peace, safety, and the protection of their government.”
Her heartfelt plea adds to the growing number of voices from civil society, traditional rulers, and affected communities urging the federal government to confront the violence with the urgency and seriousness it demands.
As insecurity continues to claim lives in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, the call by Barrister Ogwuche is a powerful reminder of the human cost of inaction—and a test of the federal government’s commitment to safeguarding every Nigerian citizen, regardless of tribe, religion or geographical location.
