Amid growing national concern over insecurity, 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, in Abuja.
The meeting, which took place at the NGF Secretariat, was chaired by the Kwara State Governor and NGF Chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Also in attendance were governors from Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Kwara, Osun, Plateau, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Kogi, Ondo, Imo, Cross River, Ogun, and Edo states.
Although the agenda was not officially disclosed, sources confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the discussions focused on the deteriorating security situation across the country, especially the massacre in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where more than 100 residents were reportedly killed.
The engagement came just hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited Benue State, where he held a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Makurdi. During the visit, the President directed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to ensure the immediate arrest of the perpetrators behind the Yelewata killings.
He also tasked the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to intensify intelligence gathering to prevent a recurrence.
At the NGF meeting, the NSA and Defence Minister were said to have briefed the governors on recent efforts and strategies being deployed to address the escalating violence in parts of the country.
The President’s directives and the governors’ emergency meeting underscore the growing pressure on security agencies to act swiftly in response to the worsening security landscape.
