The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has identified key factors behind the persistent killings in Benue State.
According to the military chief, political, territorial, and security issues as the main drivers of the violence.
This follows a deadly two-day attack on Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area, where armed assailants—believed to be herders—reportedly killed hundreds, including women and children. The attacks occurred between Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, 2025.
In response to the massacre, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to visit the state on Wednesday, while service chiefs and other top military officials have already been deployed to assess the situation and coordinate response efforts.
Speaking on the causes of the violence, General Musa stated, “Now from my own view what I have observed, two basic things or three basic things: issue of land, indigene non-indigene, critical, which is political. That is supposed to be sorted out politically.
“Secondly, the issue of the movement of animals. I have told people over time that when they say farmer-herders clash, clash means two things are moving. Where if a farmer is standing and then an animal comes in, it’s not a clash. It’s somebody entering somebody’s property. So we must find solutions to how, which means if the animals don’t move, we don’t have issues.
“Now again, because of that, again, we have issues of rustling of animals, which means if we don’t even rustle animals again that are moving, again, there won’t be most of this problem happening. So those are the three critical aspects that we must be able to address clearly. And like I said, most of it is political solution that needs to…because it’s not what the military can. So what we can stop is to try and stop people from attacking each other.”
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
