The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, claimed that residents of Yelwata in Benue State played a role in the recent massacre, as they harboured the perpetrators of the attacks in their community, and also supplied them food and women.
The Defence Chief disclosed this at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja yesterday during an expanded interaction with journalists.
On Wednesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had paid a condolence visit to the state, and directed the security forces to fish out the perpetrators of the attack that left over 100 dead and property destroyed.
While explaining to journalists, the Defence Chief said that before the incident, troops had received intelligence about potential attacks in various communities across Benue State and were mobilised accordingly.
He said upon arrival at the mentioned locations, it turned out that the information was misleading as the real attack had been executed in Yelwata using “a hit-and-run approach.”
The CDS said local informants also helped the attackers identify the location of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp at Yelwata, resulting in the high casualty figure recorded.
He stated: “These criminals were harboured by people in the community. They were given food. They were even given women. They were guided on where the IDP camp was located. Yet, security forces received no information.
“This is why we consistently urge communities to be vigilant and report suspicious activities. Security is everyone’s responsibility.”
General Musa said President Tinubu had directed full activation of all national security forces, assuring that the perpetrators of Yelwata killings would be brought to justice.
He described the porosity of the nation’s borders as a growing threat amid the rising instability in the Sahel region.
He said the flow of arms and fighters from crisis-hit countries like Sudan, Libya and the Central African Republic is worrisome, warning that these elements are exploiting Nigeria’s vast and unmonitored frontiers.
He said Nigeria should learn from a country like Pakistan which successfully built a fortified double-layer border wall to separate itself from Afghanistan.
According to him, Nigeria’s security challenges require a “whole-of-society approach involving collaboration between the military, civilian institutions and the public.
