President Bola Tinubu has directed Nigeria’s military and intelligence leaders to identify and apprehend those responsible for the recent killings in Benue State, saying the continued violence must be met with a clear and coordinated response from security forces.

Addressing service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and intelligence agency heads during a stakeholders meeting in Makurdi on Wednesday, Tinubu questioned the lack of arrests following the deadly attack on Yelwata community, which left dozens dead and displaced thousands.

“Police, I hope your men are on alert to listen to information. How come no arrest has been made? I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals,” Tinubu asked, urging security leaders to strengthen intelligence operations.

“Christopher (the chief of defence staff), you have given much. I watch your comments, you can’t be tired of staying in the bush. Oloyede and the Air Marshal, we thank all of you, but we need to keep our ears to the ground, let’s get those criminals, let’s get them out. DG NIA, DG SSS, retool your information channels and let’s have tangible intelligence so that this will not occur again.”

Tinubu’s comments came during a visit to Benue, where he met victims of the recent attack and later engaged political, religious, and traditional leaders in discussions on how to curb the prolonged violence between armed groups and rural communities.

Directing the National Intelligence Agency and the Department of State Services to review their operations, Tinubu said the government must “retool information channels” and act decisively.

The President’s visit comes amid heightened public pressure following the Yelwata killings, which have drawn criticism from political figures and religious leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and Pope Leo XIV.

During the meeting, Tinubu also reaffirmed his call for peacebuilding efforts. He told Governor Hyacinth Alia to work closely with past governors and traditional rulers in the state, warning that a failure to foster unity could further destabilise the region.

“We are members of the same house, just sleeping in different rooms,” Tinubu said. “We need to turn this tragedy into an opportunity to rebuild trust and foster development. Human life is more valuable than anything else.”

“Whatever we need to do, I’m ready to invest in that peace,” he said.

Governor Alia, in response, appealed for constitutional support to establish state police forces and a special intervention fund for rebuilding affected communities. He acknowledged the limitations of community policing but said it remained necessary to address Benue’s ongoing security challenges.

Traditional leaders at the meeting took a more urgent tone. The Tor Tiv and chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council, James Ayatse, rejected framing the violence as a herder-farmer conflict, describing it instead as a “coordinated campaign of terror and land seizure.”

“This is not a clash,” he said. “It is a calculated, full-scale genocidal invasion that has gone on for decades and is getting worse every year. Mischaracterising the problem leads to misguided solutions.”

Ayatse urged Tinubu to recognise the situation for what it is and to address it accordingly.
As part of his visit, the President toured hospitals where victims are receiving treatment and encouraged citizens to donate blood.

The Israel Defense Force has announced the elimination of Major General Ali Shadmani, the Commander of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Iranian General Staff.

He was just appointed to the position two days ago by Iranian Supreme-Leader Major Ali Khamenei,

He was appointed after the assassination on Friday of the previous Commander, Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, in an Israeli strike on Tehran.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes that neutralising Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would not escalate the conflict in the Middle East but instead bring it to an end.

Netanyahu made the controversial remarks during an interview with ABC News on Monday, saying that previous U.S. concerns about targeting Iran’s leadership were misplaced.

“It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” he said, alluding to reports that the former U.S. President Donald Trump had rejected similar suggestions out of fear of provoking further instability.

The Israeli leader blamed Tehran for decades of unrest, stating, “We’ve had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorises everyone in the Middle East… What Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression.”

When asked if Israel would directly target Ayatollah Khamenei, Netanyahu responded cryptically, “I’m not going to get into the details, but we’ve targeted their top nuclear scientists. It’s basically Hitler’s nuclear team.”

The interview comes amid escalating violence between the two regional rivals. On Monday, Iran fired another round of missiles at northern Israel, triggering air raid sirens throughout the region.

In retaliation, Iranian state media warned of what it described as “the largest and most intense missile attack in history on Israeli soil.”

As tensions soar, Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to defending its sovereignty: “We can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil. We’re doing what we need to do.”

Justice Musa Umar of the Federal High Court Abuja, on Monday, rejected an application by the Federal government to have Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan arrested for failing to appear for the start of her defamation trial.

The government is prosecuting Akpoti-Uduaghan on behalf of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello.

At the day’s proceeding, the prosecuting counsel, David Kaswe, told the court that the matter was for arraignment but that the defendant was not in court.

Kaswe told the court that he served the charge on the defendant’s counsel which meant that the defendant was well aware of the matter.

The prosecutor prayed the court for a bench warrant to be issued against the defendant for failing to appear in court despite being aware of the charge against her.

“It was this morning that we were able to serve the defendant through her counsel but the defendant is not in court.

“So, it means the defendant is aware of this matter but decided not to appear in court, in the light of this, I apply that a bench warrant be issued against her for failure to attend court to take her plea in this criminal charge,” Kaswe said.

Counsel for Akpoti-Uduaghan, Jacob Usman (SAN), told the court that he found the application of the prosecution strange and uncourteous.

Usman told the court that when he got wind of the pendency of the suit, he called the prosecutor to let him know that his client had asked him to receive the charge on her behalf.

“I was served the charge at 9:15am this morning here in court so how will the defendant know that the matter is coming up when she has not seen the charge?

“I find the application strange and it should be dishonoured, if the defendant has not been served, she cannot be in court,” he said.

He prayed the court to dis-countenance the application as it was made in bad taste.

The trial judge, Justice Musa Umar, asked the prosecutor if he had served the charge on the defendant to which he answered in the negative.

Justice Umar, therefore, said that it was impossible to grant the application of the prosecutor and issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendant when she had not been served.

He refused the application for a bench warrant and rather granted the application for substituted service through her counsel which the prosecutor made in what seemed to be an afterthought.

The judge adjourned the matter to June 30, 2025 for arraignment.

The case was not unconnected to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s alleged defamatory comments made during a live television appearance on April 3, 2025.

She allegedly made defamatory comments against Akpabio and Bello including a plot to assassinate her.