Benue killings are acts of terrorism, not farmers-herders clashes- Bukarti, UK-based security expert

A United Kingdom-based Nigerian and renowned security analyst, Bulama Bukarti, has called on President Bola Tinubu to take decisive and forceful action against terrorists and armed criminals wreaking havoc across Nigerian communities. Reacting to the recent massacre in Benue State, where over 200 lives were lost, Bukarti stressed the urgent need to deploy specially trained forces to track down and neutralise these violent actors who continue to leave trails of bloodshed in their wake. In this interview on Channels TV’ Politics Today’, Bukarti underscored that the crisis has long transcended the narrative of farmer-herder clashes. In the interview monitored by David Lawani, he offered practical insights on the President’s visit to Benue and outlined strategies for tackling the deepening insecurity

Who are these terrorists that are maiming and terrorising Benue State? Are they a new form of terrorists, or what do you know about them?

What we are witnessing in Benue goes beyond the traditional farmer-herder clashes. It is far more complex than that. I believe what is happening in Benue today is terrorism. It walks like terrorism, talks like terrorism, and kills like terrorism—therefore, it is terrorism. Examine the frequency of the attacks, their scale, level of sophistication, and the degree of coordination involved. From April to June—just in the last three months—reports suggest that over 400 people have been killed. This is not a farmer-herder conflict. It is not a communal clash. The attackers display high-level coordination. They raid and destroy villages, target civilian infrastructure, and demolish markets, schools, and anything in sight. When you consider the nature, frequency, sophistication, and brutality of these attacks, the only logical conclusion is that this is terrorism in the real sense of the word. I believe it is high time the Federal Government declared the situation in Benue—and in other parts of North-Central Nigeria—as terrorism and treated it accordingly. This entails deploying specialised security forces with intelligence capabilities and strategic planning to safeguard civilians. The situation is spiralling out of control, and the longer it lasts, the harder it will be to reverse.

Who are the actors involved?

One of the critical shortcomings in this crisis is our inability to define who these attackers are precisely. Some people call them bandits or armed groups; others say they are local criminal elements, while some victims report hearing foreign languages spoken by the assailants. It is shameful that Nigerian security agencies have yet to identify these actors accurately. If they don’t know who the attackers are, how can they effectively pursue, confront, or neutralise them? Even researchers have been unable to provide clarity. Until the crisis is appropriately defined as terrorism and security and intelligence agencies invest sufficient resources to identify the perpetrators, we will remain stuck in this vicious cycle. The Federal Government must officially declare the situation in Benue and its neighbouring states as terrorism. More security personnel with intelligence-gathering capabilities should be deployed. Merely directing the police, as President Bola Tinubu did, to arrest offenders is insufficient. We are aware of the limitations of the Nigerian Police Force and the lethality of these attackers. The police alone cannot engage them militarily or conduct thorough investigations. We need a specialised force dedicated to this mission.

Based on their modus operandi, who do they resemble? Whose pattern do these attacks mimic?

First of all, they resemble terrorists. That means they are either part of a terrorist group or a new faction with terrorist motives. A few years ago, when I was with the Tony Blair Institute, I wrote an article on security in North-Central Nigeria. Some of the evidence I gathered then indicated that a Boko Haram faction—affiliated with Al-Qaeda—was making incursions into this region. They were operating under a disguised name, Al-Sahudeen. At the time, the Federal Government denied my report, but later, even the Governor of Nasarawa State raised concerns about Boko Haram and other extremist groups operating in the area. Part of what I uncovered in my article was that Al-Sahudeen planned to target Christian communities but deliberately refused to claim the attacks to avoid sparking an ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria. They aimed to stoke inter-communal hatred by orchestrating attacks that would lead communities to turn against one another. Now, I’m not saying with certainty that this is what’s happening today. That article was published about five years ago, and I haven’t followed the situation in North-Central Nigeria as closely since then. I don’t know whether Boko Haram or other extremist factions are involved in the current attacks. But if they are, it would explain why the attackers never claim responsibility—they want the violence to appear as community clashes, thereby staying under the radar of security forces. We must remember that terrorist organisations like Al-Sahudeen and ISWAP have operational cells in Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and possibly even closer to the affected communities in Benue. These attackers could be using motorcycles to move from their hideouts, commit atrocities, and retreat undetected. These groups, particularly Al-Sahudeen, have made it clear that their strategy involves targeting Christian communities while publicly denying responsibility to avoid military reprisal. Again, I’m not prescribing policy here, but I’m saying these are plausible scenarios that our security and intelligence services should urgently investigate.

Can we liken the pattern of these attacks in the North-West to what is happening in Benue and other parts of the North Central? The Tor Tiv spoke of land grabbing, genocidal acts, and attempts to wipe out host communities. Is there a connection?

I’m cautious about using the term “genocide” because it’s a legally defined concept under international law and requires specific evidence. However, what we can say definitively is that the current situation constitutes terrorism—and perhaps includes territorial motivations. The attackers don’t just raid villages and occupy them; they also destroy them. If it were about land grabbing, we would expect them to seize and begin farming the land. But what we’re seeing is hit-and-run operations: they attack and then retreat into hiding. This is classic terrorist behaviour in terms of their modus operandi and the selective targeting of civilian communities. This situation also exposes failures on the part of our security and intelligence institutions. It’s their responsibility to define the actors, identify them publicly, and neutralise the threat. When intelligence data is gathered and flows effectively to decision-makers, accurate responses follow. But if the problem is misdiagnosed—if we treat terrorism as a local conflict—we’ll apply the wrong solutions and make things worse. Let’s not get lost in definitions. What matters is that hundreds of human lives and livelihoods are being destroyed in Benue. Markets, homes, farms, and schools are being razed. This cannot be allowed to continue. It is tragic, it is horrifying, and it is a stain on our national conscience. What the Federal Government must do now is declare this terrorism, deploy Special Forces, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Regarding the geography of these attacks—Yelewata in Guma LGA, which borders Doma in Nasarawa, and other affected LGAs like Katsina-Ala and Okpokwu—is there any basis for the President’s call for reconciliation? Who exactly is being asked to reconcile with whom?

That’s a good question. It’s not just the President who continues to frame this as a farmer-herder crisis. Even the Chief of Army Staff has used that narrative. However, the truth is that the farmer-herder narrative has become outdated, especially in Benue State. Yes, traditional farmer–herder conflicts still exist in parts of the North-West, such as Jigawa, Kano, and even in my home state, Yobe. There, you may see pastoralists encroaching on farmland, which can lead to disputes and sometimes fatalities. But what we are seeing in Benue is something entirely different. According to data, since President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, nearly 1,800 people have been killed in Benue alone—over 400 of them in just the last three months. This is not a traditional conflict. It is systematic, coordinated, and deeply lethal. It is terrorism. Therefore, the government’s response must be tailored to that reality. The military and intelligence agencies must treat this as an anti-terror operation. Of course, reconciliation committees may still have a role to play, especially in addressing leftover tensions from genuine farmer–herder disputes or inter-communal grievances. But such efforts cannot and should not extend to negotiating with terrorists. These groups must not be dignified with dialogue. They must be confronted with full military force and decisively dismantled.