Benue Christians’ Massacre: “Why Have No Arrests Been Made?”-C-in-C Tinubu

In Strong Solidarity With President Tinubu’s Commendable Question That Rattled Service Chiefs And Forced CDS Into Marketisation Of Operational Failures And Diversionary Narratives/Tactics

…unveils second million-dollar question to the Service Chiefs: “whose C-in-C operational code on Fulani jihadist terrorism in Nigeria is in use; that of C-in-C Tinubu or Former C-in-C Buhari”?

Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, Sat, June 21, 2025

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), Nigeria’s leading research and investigative advocacy group campaigning for public and citizens’ security and safety, among others since 2008, has decided to rarely single out President Ahmed Bola Tinubu of Nigeria for commendation over his million dollar unanswered question to Nigeria’s security and intelligence chiefs on the systematic and well-coordinated massacre of defenseless Christians in Benue State, the most populated and uprooted Christian State in Northern Nigeria. President Ahmed Bola Tinubu had during his June 18, 2025 visit to Benue State in connection with last week massacre leading to the death of more than 220 defenseless Christians and close to 1000 since the beginning of January 2025; fired the million dollar unanswered question to the country’s security and intelligence chiefs who were all present.

President Tinubu had specifically asked his appointed Service Chiefs: “Why have no arrests been made?” It is not only that the question threw the physically present security and intelligence chiefs off balance and rattled them including Chief of Defense Staff, Lt Gen Musa who was not only rattled but appeared to have rushed to his computer and dusted up stored information of “number of terrorists killed (neutralized) and arrested” in Nigeria’s six geopolitical regions “in the past two years”. The President’s million-dollar question, unanswered by his appointed security and intelligence chiefs to date, has therefore gladdened our hearts for the first time since the President’s emergence as sixth civilian president of Nigeria following the 2023 armada of electoral fraud that brought him into office.

We are also in strong condemnation of despicable and reckless resort to diversionary narratives and tactics by the military whenever serious matters of national security threats or breaches are raised. As a matter of fact, they are nothing short of brazen promotion of false gallantry and marketisation of operational failures and diversionary and questionable narratives or tactics. For instance, “What has the President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s million-dollar unanswered question to his appointed Security and Intelligence Chiefs got to do with: Benue massacre locals sheltered their attackers, gave them food, women? Also, what has it got to do with: “6,260 terrorists and criminals neutralised (killed) in joint operations nationwide over the last two years and 14, 138 suspects arrested? A competent, unbiased and operationally efficient military chief should not have resorted to such vexatious and psychologically brainwashing diversionary narratives. Such an egg-head military chief should have swung into operational action; more so when the marauders are not far from his operational grips, as they are very easy to apprehend and bring to justice.

Since the Chief of Defense Staff, Gen Musa Christopher Gwabin, is operationally aware of the fact that “Benue massacre locals have been sheltering their attackers and giving them food and women”, why have the CDS and other security and intelligence chiefs still refused to arrest them (attackers)? Is it not correct to say that this is another diversionary measure or tactic aimed at hunting down the defenceless victims of the serial massacres and hound them into indefinite detention through indiscriminate and arbitrary arrests, from where they will end up being falsely labelled as attackers and their attackers as victims?

Unveiling the Second Million Dollar Question To Security And Intelligence Chiefs:

We at Intersociety wish to use this opportunity of “in solidarity with President Ahmed Bola Tinubu of Nigeria” to unveil the second million-dollar question to the country’s Security and Intelligence Chiefs: “whose C-in-C Operational Code on Fulani Jihadist Terrorism in Nigeria or any part thereof is in use; that of C-in-C Tinubu or Former C-in-C Buhari”? This question of ours is pertinent, going by findings arising from our several years of research and investigations on religiously motivated killings by Muslim jihadists in the country and the roles played by the country’s security forces, particularly the military. We have produced several reports on armed state actors and armed non-state actor mass killings across Nigeria since August 2015; most prominent of which is the “Ocean Of Innocent Blood Flowing In The East”; a 282-page Special Report, released in Enugu on Dec 22, 2024 (https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NIGERIA-OCEAN-OF-INNOCENT-BLOOD-FLOWING-IN-THE-EAST-oringinal_11zon.pdf).

It is also strikingly important to disclose that our general research and investigative findings between 2017 and before June 2023 have found that one of the greatest security threats and challenges facing Nigeria is gross partisanship of the Nigerian security forces particularly the military; to the extent some friendly top security officers who pleaded not to be named, had shared such fears with our leadership and field researchers. We had in the course of our investigations in places like Taraba, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue, Kogi and some South-East and South-South States been told that “there exists a C-in-C operational code handed down by President Muhammad Buhari (as he then was) to security and intelligence chiefs which specifically directed them to protect and not to touch or arrest members of the criminal Fulani population including jihadists among them”. As recently as a month ago, a serving Local Government Chairman in Benue State cried out on social media and narrated how he confronted security chiefs over killings by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their allies in his Local Government part of Benue State and was brazenly told by the security chiefs that “Abuja has not given them order to deal with killer herdsmen”.

Signed: For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety)

/s. E. Umeagbalasi

Emeka Umeagbalasi, MSc.

Criminologist, Lead-Researcher/Head

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

 

/s. C. Umeche

Chinwe Umeche, Esquire

Human Rights Lawyer/Head, Democracy and Good Governance

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

 

/s. C. Nwajiaku

Comrade Chibueze Nwajiaku

Deputy Head, Policing and Law Enforcement Department

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

 

/s. S. Kamanyaoku

Comrade Samuel Kamanyaoku

Head, Field Data Collection and Documentation Department

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

 

Digital Contacts:

Mobile/WhatsApp Lines: +2348100098016, +2349130156872

Email: info@intersociety-ng.org

Website: https://intersociety-ng.org

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