Following the continued deterioration of security situation in Benue state, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor Sabastine Hon has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state Emergency to save lives in the state.
The Senior Lawyer in a 6-page petition to President Tinubu catalogued how thousands of lives and properties have already been lost to invaders against the hapless citizens of the State and submitted that the state of emergency has become inevitable.
Hon who is a Constitutional lawyer also alleged in the petition that the state governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is bereft of ideas while the security operatives collude with bandits and murderers to kill innocent citizens of the State.
As a result of this glaring gap in securing the lives of the people of the State, the Senior Advocate demanded the immediate withdrawal of all the security operatives in Benue and replace them with new ones who may not indulge in such acts of aligning with the terrorists.
He claimed that while the situation has come under control in States like Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano and Kaduna, the situation is deteriorating in Benue.
According to Hon, “the fact that the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, keeps labelling the massive killings going on in Benue State as mere ‘‘skirmishes” and therefore justifying his unwillingness to address the matter is embarrassing”
He went on: “the fact that the military commanders in Benue State seem to have all taken sides with the murderers is also curious. Too many examples abound; but”.
He listed the massacre in Agan, Community along Lafia-Makurdi road in the North Bank area of Makurdi Metropolis on May 29, 2025 in broad daylight by the terrorists as a classical example.
Hon regretted that “Even though there is a military barracks in the same North Bank and soldiers were deployed to arrest the situation, everything was left to chance.“
He added that on May 24, 2025, Rev, Fr. Solomon Atongo a Catholic Priest was attacked and shot at on his way from Makurdi to Naka, headquarters of Gwer-West local government area while his co-passengers were abducted.
According to the petition, “The scene was just about 500 meters from a military checkpoint, but none of the soldiers at the checkpoint came to his rescue until the attackers left him for dead. He is lucky to be alive today.”
The erudite legal practitioner also claimed in the petition that there are several online allegations of the complicity of the military in the attacks.
For instance, “on May 31, 2025, Catholic Priests directly accused the military of complicity and further informed the whole world how the Church has lost priests and laity and has closed over 15 parishes in Benue State,” Hon stated.
It’s time to declare state of emergency in Benue, Senior Lawyer begs Tinubu
