Declare State Of Emergency In Plateau, Benue, Borno, Analyst Begs Tinubu

A public affairs analyst, Dr Dormene Mbea, has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Plateau, Benue and Borno States over the worsening wave of killings by terrorists, bandits and criminal herdsmen.

Mbea, who made the call in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, described the persistent attacks on civilians, police formations and military bases as a national emergency that must no longer be met with routine official reactions and press releases.

He lamented that hundreds of Nigerians continue to be killed while entire communities are displaced, yet the country appears to have normalised the bloodshed.

“How can hundreds of people be killed by terrorists, bandits and criminal herdsmen, and our police stations and military bases be overrun, yet the nation acts as if these lives do not matter?” he asked.

“We have not even declared national mourning for these victims. If emergency rule could be declared in Rivers State because of the failure to secure pipeline infrastructure, why can’t the same be done when hundreds of innocent Nigerians are being slaughtered? Are pipelines now more important than human lives?” the public affairs analyst queried.

Mbea, who is a former Chief of Staff Khana local government area of Rivers State, expressed concern over what he described as the dangerous normalisation of violence, stressing that citizens cannot continue to accept a situation where mass killings are followed only by statements of condemnation.

“Sitting in offices and issuing statements to condemn attacks on unarmed citizens is not enough. Government must confront these criminals directly and take the battle to their camps.

“I do not know how vast Sambisa Forest and other hideouts are, but our experienced forces must be fully empowered to penetrate these locations and dismantle terrorist and bandit networks. Official responses must shift from rhetoric to action.

“Condemnation alone will not stop the killings. Action is the only language these terrorists understand. Every forest, camp and desert harbouring these criminals must be treated as a battlefield until Nigeria is safe again,” Mbea said.

He also faulted the controversial reintegration of alleged repentant terrorists into the security architecture, warning that such actions could compromise national security operations.

“How do you employ alleged repentant members of terrorist organisations into the security system and expect our military operations not to be compromised? They understand our tactics and can easily relay information to their former colleagues,” the analyst said

Mbea further criticised the National Assembly for what he described as a failure to perform effective oversight of the nation’s security agencies.

“They sit in the comfort of their offices and rely on briefings from service chiefs instead of going to the frontline to hear directly from our soldiers who are risking their lives daily,” he said.

The public affairs analyst urged lawmakers to visit military formations and battlefronts with security experts to assess the quality of arms and ammunition available to troops.

Mbea maintained that Nigeria has some of the finest military personnel on the continent but said they need superior weapons, improved logistics and stronger institutional backing.

“If our forces are overwhelmed, government should not hesitate to seek strategic support from allies such as America or Israel to help flush these criminals out,” he said.