SMBLF Slams Tinubu Govt Over Insecurity, Urges Urgent Reforms and State-Led Security Initiatives
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The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has raised alarm over the Federal Government’s handling of the worsening insecurity across Nigeria, describing the current approach under President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration as deeply troubling.
Following an emergency meeting held in Abuja, the group issued a strongly worded communiqué criticizing what it termed the over-reliance on the military, warning that such a strategy is unsustainable and places excessive pressure on the armed forces.
In the statement jointly signed by Oba Oladipo Olaitan (representing Afenifere), Dr Bitrus Pogu (Middle Belt Forum), Senator John Azuta-Mbata (Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide), and Ambassador Godknows Igali (Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF), the forum called on President Tinubu and the National Assembly to take immediate steps to fulfill their constitutional duty of protecting Nigerian lives and property.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria and particularly the National Assembly must now accept their failure to provide the most fundamental security of life and property across the country,” the communiqué stated. “We continue to witness the impunity of Fulani terrorists and their foreign collaborators wrecking genocidal attacks on indigenous communities, particularly in the Middle Belt region, as is happening currently in Benue State.”
To enhance local security capabilities, SMBLF recommended the redeployment of police officers below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police to their states of origin, arguing this would foster more effective community policing.
The forum also called on state governments to adopt localized security structures akin to the South West’s Amotekun corps, equipped with adequate arms to counter insurgents and criminal elements—at least as a stopgap measure pending the realization of true federalism.
On political developments in Rivers State, the group condemned any appointments into state or local government positions, or the conduct of elections, by the military administrator currently overseeing the state, branding such actions illegal. It urged an immediate return to constitutional governance.
SMBLF also tasked the National Assembly with asserting its oversight role without compromise, stressing the need for dignity, independence, and accountability in the face of Nigeria’s mounting challenges.
