• Herdsmen attacks crippling education in Benue, group warns
• Tinubu pledges stronger action against banditry, criminality

The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has expressed concern over the increasing wave of killings in the region, particularly the recent attack in Plateau State, which left 13 members of the Berom ethnic nationality dead.

In a statement issued yesterday by its National Spokesperson, Luka Binniyat, the Forum described the violence as a “horrifying and escalating campaign of extermination” against indigenous ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt.

Binniyat condemned the massacre in Rachas village, Heipang District of Barkin Ladi Local Council, Plateau State, saying: “What is unfolding across our land is nothing short of genocide. This is a systematic, organised, and sustained effort to wipe out entire communities, seize ancestral territories, and erase native identities.”

He noted that the MBF represents indigenous peoples of the North-Central states and parts of Taraba, Gombe, Adamawa, Southern Kebbi, Southern Bauchi, Southern Kaduna, and Southern Borno, who are “neither Hausa, Fulani, nor Kanuri.”

According to him, these ethnic nationalities have historically defended their autonomy and ancestral lands and were never conquered by the Kanuri Empire or the Fulani jihadists before or after colonial rule.

Quoting the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Binniyat said the acts being committed in the region meet the definition of genocide, including killing members of targeted groups and inflicting conditions intended to bring about their destruction.

He alleged that the attacks were a continuation of an old Jihad, now “carried out by descendants of early invaders through Kanuri Islamic extremists who formed Boko Haram, ISWAP, and allied terror groups mainly of Fulani stock.”

The Forum called on the Nigerian government and the international community to act urgently to halt the killings and protect indigenous communities.

THIS came as a group in Benue State, the Tyoshin Strategic Group (TSG), raised concern over the continued collapse of public primary and secondary schools in Gwer-West Local Council, attributing the decline to persistent herdsmen attacks in the area.

Speaking during a meeting with the Gwer-West Council Chairman, Victor Torsaa Ormin, in Naka, the group’s leader, Dr Felix Atume, warned that the situation has placed Gwer-West among the councils with the highest number of out-of-school children in the country.

He lamented that only five government-owned primary schools remain functional across the entire local council, describing the trend as alarming and detrimental to the academic future of the community’s children.

“We have come to express the alarming decline in the situation of public primary education in Gwer-West Council and appeal for immediate intervention. As it stands today, only five government-owned primary schools are currently functional across the entire council due to the escalating insecurity and displacement of communities by Fulani herdsmen,” Atume said.

He proposed that internally displaced persons (IDPs) occupying school facilities in affected communities such as Kula, Jimba, Aondoana, Achagh, Atukpu, Naka, Camp Nagi and Agagbe be relocated to allow learning to resume.

Atume also suggested converting damaged schools into mega institutions to cater for more pupils and establishing temporary schools in Naka for displaced students, similar to arrangements made during the 2023 general elections.

The group called on state authorities and relevant agencies to intervene urgently to prevent further deterioration of the education system in Gwer-West.

MEANWHILE, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ending banditry and other forms of criminality across the country, particularly in the northern region.

The President gave the assurance through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during the All Progressives Congress (APC) Niger South Senatorial District Zone A interactive session in Bida at the weekend. The event was part of preparations for the November 1, 2025, local council elections in Niger State and the inauguration of the party’s campaign council.

Tinubu, according to Idris, remains resolute in ensuring the safety of lives and property as part of efforts to accelerate the country’s development. He said security agencies have been directed to do whatever is necessary to restore peace and stability in Niger State and other parts of Nigeria.

Idris, who also chairs the campaign council for the upcoming polls, urged Nigerians to trust the President’s reform agenda, noting that the economy was gradually improving.