BREAKING: Middle Belt Forum urges Jonathan, Buhari, El-Rufai to assist in tackling insecurity
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has called on former President Goodluck Jonathan, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to provide crucial information that could help security agencies address the escalating insecurity in Nigeria.
Dr. Isuwa Dogo, the MBF’s Publicity Secretary, made this appeal during an interview.
He stated that all three leaders, at various points in their tenure, made statements or took actions suggesting they have knowledge that could assist in identifying the masterminds of violent attacks plaguing the nation.
He said: “Jonathan said it in the media, that they know those who are hosting it. His national security adviser said so.
“Why can’t Jonathan tell the government who those people were or are at that time, and if they are still in government or wherever they might be, to get them?”
Dogo also criticized the Buhari administration for allegedly reintegrating former Boko Haram members into the Nigerian armed forces.
“During Buhari’s time, it was alleged that Boko Haram members who claimed that they had repented were not only given money, but many were put in the army, police, and air force. Should that have happened? The answer is no,” he said.
He called for a thorough audit of security personnel, demanding that any ex-terrorist elements be identified, removed, and prosecuted.
He queried: “There is no issue of forgiveness. Somebody has killed millions of people, and you say you have forgiven him?”
On El-Rufai, Dogo urged the former governor to assist by revealing details from his reported engagements with armed groups during his time in office.
“He can volunteer useful information that can help to address this rising insecurity,” he stated.
Dogo also pushed back against the common narrative surrounding farmer-herder clashes, asserting that those referred to as herdsmen are actually organized and armed terrorists backed by urban elites.
He said: “There are no herdsmen clashes with farmers. The people they call herdsmen are simply terrorists, funded by enlightened people, politicians, and others living in the cities.
“These so-called Fulanis are employed and armed. You’ll see one person alone with an AK-47. Is it only on farms that they kill? No.”
He also questioned the absence of effective security response despite reports of armed groups moving in convoys to attack multiple villages.
