The Middle Belt Journalists Forum (MBJF) has called on president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, the Service Chiefs, and the top echelon of the security and defence formations in the country to save the Middle Belt region from the deadly attacks by unknown gunmen who have laid siege on several communities in the region.
The MBJF, in a statement, signed and issued on Thursday, July 4, 2024 by Mr. Mark Mayah, National President and Mrs. Ladi Emmanuel, National Secretary,
described the resurgence of violence in the region as tragic, saying that those responsible for the attacks and killings should be arrested and prosecuted; adding
that the killings in the region by armed herdsmen have assumed a monumental proportion.
“The region which seems to be the sole target for these genocidal attacks has remained under the stranglehold of the killers for over two decades…
“The most recent of this genocide was the
reoccurring maiming and killing of several people and burning of several properties including the local government secretariat on Wednesday afternoon in Borikyo, in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue state by unknown armed men.”
The Journalists forum frowned at the spate of killings in the zone, noting that governments at federal and state level are not doing enough to stem the menace.
The forum also calls for the proper levelling of what is happening in the region in terms of human carnage and that the current classifying the catastrophy as farmers/herdsmen conflict is very wrong; saying it’s simply a genocide, and so the need to change the narrative in the media.
“The situation where hapless natives are murdered in cold blood on their ancestral home cannot be described as a farmers -herders crisis.
The Middle Belt Journalists Forum is calling on the Federal government to do all that is required to save the region from the current systematic genocide.
“The life of every Nigerian is sacred and important and it is the responsibility of the federal government to protect the masses against internal and external aggression. It is high time the authority sit-up to its primary responsibility of securing the federation.
“We are also appealing to the Inspector General of Police, all the Service Chiefs and the National Security Adviser to swiftly intervene and thoroughly investigate the cause of the persistent killings. We seek humanitarian assistance for those displaced by the conflict.
“We share in the grief of the families of those that lost their lives in the unfortunate incidents and call on the people to be steadfast and cooperate with the men of our security forces for the restoration of lasting peace”, the statement reads.