National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has come out swinging, blaming the country’s deepening insecurity on what he called an “extremely bad government” inherited by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Ribadu made the statement during a condolence visit to Benue State on Tuesday, following the gruesome killing of over 72 people by terrorists disguised as herdsmen.
“The security situation we met was terrible,” Ribadu said, urging Benue residents to give Tinubu’s government a fair chance. “Stop politicizing the killings.
It’s impossible to post soldiers in every hamlet, but our Armed Forces are doing well. Peace will return, but we need time.”
Ribadu condemned the violence, stressing that while progress has been made in tackling insecurity, incidents like the recent attacks must still be addressed head-on.
“This one too, we will confront it,” he assured.
Benue State Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia described the moment as “sober,” revealing that the state has been under sustained siege since 2011, with countless lives lost.
Just days after armed herders reportedly slaughtered over 50 farmers, fresh bloodshed erupted early Tuesday in Afia, Ukum LGA, where gunmen killed 11 more residents and injured several others.
The killings in Benue and neighboring Plateau State have surged in the past two weeks, raising fears of renewed unrest in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt.
