MIDDLE BELT GROUPS REJECT N1BN MONTHLY DUES TO NORTHERN SECURITY FUND
- Demand State-Level Action
- Plateau Citizens Urge Mutfwang to Rethink N12BN Yearly Commitment
By Our Correspondent
Two Middle Belt groups have kicked against the decision of the Northern States Governors’ Forum to pool ₦1 billion every month from each state into the newly inaugurated Northern Nigeria Security Trust Fund, NNSTF.
The groups, Middle Belt Forum, MBF and Concerned Citizens of Plateau State said the money should be used to tackle insecurity within individual states instead.
The Fund, according to the Northern Governors, is to support the fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping across the 19 northern states.
In a statement issued on July 21 by its National Spokesman, Luka Binniyat, the MBF said the Middle Belt has paid the heaviest price in the ongoing crisis in northern Nigeria.
“Thousands of our people have been killed. Hundreds of communities destroyed. Millions of hectares of farmland abandoned. Countless families are still in IDP camps,” the statement read.
The Forum accused northern governors of failing to speak out or visit communities attacked in Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger.
The MBF also alleged that the NNSTF is “a well-crafted design by the Sokoto caliphate and Borno Sultanate to raise funds for their own interest and for the same terrorists the fund is supposed to fight.”
It further rejected the continued membership of Middle Belt governors in the Northern Governors’ Forum.
“There is no such thing as Northern region again. It died in 1966. This membership is not backed by any law and is not acceptable to our people,” the MBF stated.
The group vowed to go to court to stop any deduction of ₦1 billion monthly from Middle Belt states. Instead, it advised governors to invest in: Community vigilantes and local intelligence, surveillance equipment and emergency response, rebuilding of destroyed villages, schools and hospitals, resettlement and compensation of IDPs.
The MBF also warned that the fund might be used to “rehabilitate repentant bandits while victims continue to suffer.”
“Money alone cannot bring peace. We need justice and prosecution of criminals,” it said.
In a separate letter dated July 14, Concerned Citizens of Plateau State appealed to Governor Caleb Mutfwang to reconsider Plateau’s commitment to the fund.
The letter signed by Simon Shaweng and Sylva Ayuba, the group said N12 billion yearly to an external fund “will cripple our ability to secure Plateau.”
“Many communities are still under attack. People are being displaced and farms destroyed. Our priority should be Plateau first,” the letter stated.
The group urged government to focus on intelligence gathering in flashpoint LGAs, logistics and welfare for security agencies in the state, community policing and emergency response, protection of farms, schools, markets and Plateau State University.
“Regional cooperation is good, but it should be through intelligence sharing and joint operations, not money that will weaken us at home,” the group said.
It called for transparency and public consultation before any such funds are committed.
“We believe His Excellency will put the security and welfare of Plateau people first,” it added.
The Northern Nigeria Security Trust Fund was set up by the 19 northern governors to provide equipment, logistics and support to security agencies. Its board was inaugurated recently, but details of how the money will be managed are yet to be made public.
The Tinubu administration has said insecurity remains a priority and has thrown its weight behind the proposed State Police.
As at press time, the Northern Governors’ Forum and NNSTF Board had not responded to the positions of the MBF and Plateau group.
For communities in Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Taraba that have witnessed repeated attacks, the big question remains, should ₦1 billion monthly go to a regional pool, or should it be used to secure homes first?
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