Tinubu To Meet Service Chiefs Over Rising Killings

President Bola Tinubu is planning to meet with the service chiefs to discuss the rising killings in Plateau, Benue and other parts of the country on his return to Abuja from his two-week working visit to Paris, the French capital.

Tinubu returned to Abuja on Monday night after spending 18 days on a working visit and retreat in Paris and London.

The Air Force 001 aircraft conveying the President landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 09:50pm on Monday, the State House media office announced.

Since April 2, when he travelled, more than 120 locals have been killed by armed assailants.

Several homes have been burnt and 3,000 persons displaced despite the deployment of security forces.

In Benue, at least 56 people were killed in Logo and Gbagir after twin assaults blamed on armed herders.

Multiple sources said the President was concerned by the security situation and would immediately meet with the service chiefs and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, over the development.

On Monday, a top functionary privy to the development confirmed to The PUNCH that the security meeting would review the rising violence and the measures to contain it.

“The President will certainly meet the service chiefs to review the security situation across the country and the flash point of Plateau, Benue and Borno. He has been getting security briefings while away and giving directives to the security chiefs. So, he will meet his security chiefs and ministers too,’’ he affirmed.

This came as the Presidency blamed state governors for the mounting cases of killings nationwide, especially the recent incidences in Plateau, Benue and Enugu States.

It cited the governors’ poor funding of security outfits in their states despite receiving humongous security votes.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, stated this when he appeared on TVC’s Beyond the Headlines show with Nifemi Oguntoye Monday evening.

Bwala said, “What we are finding, very sadly, is that there are some states where the governors give N20m to the SSS, N20m to the police, and N20m to the army as monthly allocation for fighting insecurity. And you hear their security vote is between N1bn, N2bn and N3bn. Where are we going?”

Commenting on the clamour for state police, Bwala argued the demand masks weak local governance in the states.