National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, has urged the Federal Government to seek the intervention of the United States to confront banditry and terror attacks gripping some parts of the country.
The MBF president also faulted northern governors, accusing them of downplaying and covering up the attacks, especially those targeting Christians, instead of taking decisive action.
Pogu’s warning comes amid growing public concern over the surge in killings and kidnappings that have engulfed some northern communities in recent weeks, leaving dozens dead and many more displaced.
In the latest attack, three people were killed and about 35 others kidnapped at the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Isegun, in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State on Tuesday, according to police and multiple eyewitness accounts.
The Kwara attack came barely 24 hours after bandits struck the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, killing the school’s Vice Principal, Hassan Makuku, and abducting 26 students.
The Federal Government, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, on Wednesday, blamed the renewed terror attacks on recent remarks by the United States.
The SGF said President Donald Trump’s posts alleging “Christian genocide” in Nigeria and threatening to deploy US troops had “inadvertently emboldened opportunistic violent groups” now seeking to justify attacks on soft targets.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Pogu said northern governors, not the US, should be blamed for the resurgent terror.
He argued that, despite not having direct control over the military or police, the governors could influence civil defence forces and other armed organisations to change the speed and effectiveness of responses to attacks.
Pogu said instead of admitting their faults, some government officials have been pretending and denying the genocidal claims out of fear of the United States.
The MBF President cautioned that if the situation escalates to a point where the US intervenes forcefully, the consequences could be devastating.
“The best thing to do is for them to own up that these things are happening and that there is genocide—attacks deliberately against Christian organisations and settlements in their areas. They should plead to the Federal Government to partner with America so that these issues can be resolved.
“The US know where these people are. They have satellites that can even identify you—how you look, where you are going, and your movement. So let the governors not pretend and think that the Americans don’t know,” Pogu said.
He also warned the governors against imposing their views on others under the guise of religion, stating that any attempt to enforce Sharia or other practices on unwilling populations would only bring trouble.
The MBF President also took a swipe at the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, for denying that an ethnic genocide is occurring in the state.
Alia had, at a public function on Wednesday, stated that while insecurity remains a challenge, it should not be misrepresented as the targeted extermination of any group.
Pogu, however, faulted the governor’s stance, accusing him of serving the interests of political godfathers.
“If Alia, because of serving the interests of some political godfathers and his pocket, can come out and say there is no genocide when hundreds of his people are being killed—and they are Christians, and their churches have been burnt —then I’m sorry for him,” Pogu said.
He added that, since the governor claimed to be a reverend father, he must change his stance and acknowledge the truth.
Pogu compared the situation in Benue to attacks in Chibok by Boko Haram, noting that while several villages in Chibok were targeted, leaving homes and churches burned and several people abducted, the scale of violence in Benue was far worse.
“What is happening in Chibok is too small compared to what is happening in Benue. The people who were killed at Yelwata, the majority of them—more than 80 per cent—are Tiv people, and the former governor had to impose the anti-open grazing law to reduce the killing.
“Even when the people were sent to IDP camps, these killers went after them in the camps. And for him as a governor to say there is no genocide, I’m sorry for him,” Pogu said.
