The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed concern over the recent wave of killings and attacks across several parts of Nigeria, including the reported death of a senior army officer during an assault on a military base in Benisheikh.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, the group described the incidents—spanning Borno State, Ondo State, Plateau State, Kwara State, Niger State and Kaduna State—as troubling signs of worsening insecurity nationwide.
According to reports cited by the organisation, the Commanding Officer of the Benisheikh military base, Oseni Braimah, was killed during Thursday’s attack. Additional assaults were also reported on military formations in Pulka and Monguno.
Afenifere also condemned a separate attack on a poultry farm in Igushi Ala, where a farmer and her daughter were killed, while three workers, including the farmer’s sister, were abducted by gunmen.
The group further recalled the recent kidnapping of five visitors at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) in Ibadan, describing the incident as part of a broader pattern of attacks affecting multiple states, including Benue State and Katsina State. The developments, it noted, had already prompted a recent security visit by Bola Tinubu to Plateau State.
Reviewing the situation, Ajayi attributed the worsening insecurity to factors such as alleged internal sabotage within security agencies, collusion between criminals and some community members, possible foreign interests targeting Nigeria’s mineral resources, and the involvement of unscrupulous political actors.
He urged authorities to intensify internal reviews within security institutions and deploy surveillance technologies such as drones and closed-circuit television systems to track armed groups moving in convoys.
“It is high time that greater self-examination is done and necessary steps taken if the war against insecurity in Nigeria is to be won,” he said.
Afenifere also recommended that suspected sponsors of armed groups be persuaded to encourage fighters to surrender their weapons, recalling similar disarmament efforts during the administration of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, after which legal sanctions could be applied where necessary.
