Tinubu urges traditional, religious leaders to help fight insecurity

President Bola Tinubu on Monday charged traditional and religious leaders, communities, youths, women, development partners and the private sector in the North-Central to strengthen collaboration with the government and security agencies in tackling insecurity and building lasting peace across the region.

The President gave the charge at the 2026 North-Central Regional Security Summit held in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Collaborative Approaches to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability’, Tinubu particularly tasked traditional and religious leaders to serve as the first line of early warning and trusted voices of reconciliation in their communities.

Tinubu, who was represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, also admonished Nigerians to share intelligence with security agencies and not shield criminals on the basis of kinship or sentiment.

While urging women and youths to take their rightful place at the centre of peace-building efforts, the President called on development partners and the private sector not to see the North-Central merely as a region requiring assistance but as an investment destination with enormous economic potential.

Tinubu said, “Insecurity transcends state boundaries and institutional mandates, requiring security agencies and communities to overcome rivalry, duplication of efforts and the withholding of vital information.

“No single agency, no single tier of government and no single community can secure this region acting alone. Insecurity does not respect state boundaries or agency mandates.

“Criminals move freely across local government areas while our responses are too often slowed by rivalry, duplication and the withholding of information. That must end.”

The President said his administration had strengthened the nation’s security architecture through enhanced collaboration among the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force and intelligence services, as well as the acquisition of new platforms and advanced capabilities for the military.

He further stated that his administration was rebuilding the nation’s indigenous defence industry through the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act while also improving the welfare of troops to enhance their operational effectiveness.

Tinubu, who applauded security agencies for their efforts against terrorists and other criminal elements, said terrorist commanders and their lieutenants had been neutralised, with thousands of fighters surrendering, captives rescued and normalcy restored to several communities.

The President identified factors sustaining violent conflicts to include struggles over land and water, climate change, desertification, unresolved land-use issues, weak local dispute-resolution mechanisms and the proliferation of illicit weapons.

He stressed the need to address the underlying factors fuelling insecurity. “Military action alone will not deliver lasting peace to the North-Central. Force can suppress violence; it cannot resolve the grievances that produce it,” he said.

Tinubu said his administration’s response would continue to combine kinetic operations with developmental interventions.

According to him, the Federal Government’s efforts through the Ministry of Livestock Development to transition from open grazing to modern, settled livestock production were part of measures to protect farmlands, improve pastoral livelihoods and remove a major trigger of conflict.

The President also highlighted the Reclaiming the Ungoverned Space for Economic Benefits Programme of the Ministry of Defence, which is designed to deploy the experience of retired military personnel towards securing and reviving communities recovering from violence.

Tinubu said investments in irrigation, mechanised agriculture, rural roads and access to credit under the Renewed Hope Agenda were aimed at transforming the region’s vulnerabilities into economic opportunities.

Charging traditional and religious leaders, the President said, “To our revered traditional rulers and religious leaders, you hold an authority that no uniform confers. You know your communities intimately. You know when a stranger arrives, when a young man falls into bad company, and when a quarrel between two families is about to become a conflict between two peoples. I ask you to be our first line of early warning and our most trusted voice of reconciliation.”

In his welcome address, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, said the theme of the summit was apt, considering the insecurity ravaging parts of the country.

According to him, Benue and other parts of the North-Central have continued to face security challenges that require a collaborative security strategy.

He said, “It is my considered position that our diversity should be a source of strength rather than weakness. What are those things that unite us, and what are those things that divide us and breed insecurity? The issues are multidimensional, and as such, the solution must be collaborative. I have said this in different rooms, and I will say it again here: the moment we set aside our differences to confront the enemy of insecurity, half the battle is already won.”

He, however, added that the collaboration must not exist only in communiqués but must extend to traditional institutions and community leaders.

Alia emphasised that the North-Central has one of the highest levels of ethnic diversity in the country, stating that despite its plurality, the region’s underlying culture should promote peace.

“Our heritage does not breed violence, which is reflected in the proud sobriquets of our states: Benue as ‘The Food Basket of the Nation’, Kogi as ‘The Confluence State’, Kwara as the ‘State of Harmony’, Nasarawa as the ‘Home of Solid Minerals’, Plateau as the ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’, Niger as ‘The Power State’, and Abuja as the ‘Centre of Unity’.”

Alia commended the Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the initiative.

He stated that the North-Central geopolitical zone occupies a strategic place in the socioeconomic configuration of the country, noting that whenever the region is insecure, the entire country feels the impact because of its abundant natural resources.