The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Wednesday night held a closed-door meeting with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, amid rising concerns over national security.

The meeting, which took place at the NGF Secretariat in Abuja, was chaired by Kwara State Governor and Forum Chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Governors from Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Kwara, Osun, Plateau, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Kogi, Ondo, Imo, Cross River, Ogun, and Edo were present at the meeting.

Although the official agenda of the meeting has not been made public, sources familiar with the proceedings told NAN that discussions were centred around the worsening security situation across the country, particularly the recent massacre in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where over 100 residents were reportedly killed.

The meeting follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to Benue earlier on Wednesday, where he held a high-level stakeholders’ engagement at the Government House in Makurdi.

A source at the NGF Secretariat confirmed that the NSA and the Defence Minister were providing security briefings to the governors.

At the stakeholders’ forum in Makurdi, President Tinubu had issued a directive to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to ensure the immediate arrest of those behind the Yelewata massacre.

The President openly queried the police leadership over delays in arrests and called on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to ramp up surveillance and intelligence-gathering to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Also in attendance at the Makurdi meeting were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, traditional rulers, and former governors of the state.