Sule, Mutfwang seek end to politicisation of insecurity in North Central

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has called on political leaders in the North Central region to stop politicising insecurity, warning that persistent political differences could create opportunities for criminals and militants to exploit.

Sule also appealed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, and Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, to resolve their differences and close ranks in the interest of peace and security in the region.

The governor made the appeal on Monday at the North Central Zonal Security Summit, organised by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, held at the Government House, Makurdi.

Sule stressed that stakeholders across the region must separate politics from security matters, insisting that the continued politicisation of insecurity would prevent the region from making meaningful progress in tackling the menace.

“We must develop trust between Benue and Nasarawa states,” he said, noting that political differences had created windows through which militants and other criminal elements could operate.

The Nasarawa state Governor recalled that despite the alleged strained relations between his predecessor, Tanko Al-Makura, and former Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, he deliberately built a cordial relationship with Ortom after assuming office.

“I visited him and we held peace meetings at Yelewata. Following that relationship, the attacks reduced drastically from 2019 to 2023 until Governor Alia assumed office and it heightened again,” Sule said.

He added, “I will be stupid to accommodate militants that would attack Benue State or any North Central state. We must build trust and share intelligence.”

Sule urged North Central governors to devote more resources to strengthening security agencies, particularly through the acquisition of modern technology, saying no amount of money was too much to protect lives.

“We now have more resources; we should deploy them to support security agencies to acquire technological gadgets, as no amount of money is too much to secure the lives of the people,” he said.

Also speaking, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, faulted the description of attacks on farming communities as mere “herders-farmers clashes,” insisting that some of the incidents should be regarded as invasions.

Mutfwang said every state had its peculiar security challenges and should develop appropriate frameworks to address them, stressing that honesty and truthfulness were critical to confronting banditry, kidnapping and attacks on communities.

“We must trace them to their hideouts and stop them. We are too reactionary and our borders are porous,” the Plateau Governor said.

He advocated the establishment of structured community networks across localities, which, according to him, could serve as the first line of defence in securing vulnerable communities.

“We should establish structured Community Network within the localities, who should be armed as the first line of defence,” Mutfwang said.

In her contribution, former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Pauline Tallen, called for the establishment of a North Central Border Coordination Committee to strengthen cooperation among states sharing common borders.

Tallen said greater collaboration, sincerity and political will among political leaders were necessary to reverse the worsening security situation and restore peace across the North Central region.

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