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IPOB Lawyer Ejiofor Urges Tinubu To Declare Benue Emergency
He cited Section 305(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which he said “empowers the President to declare a State of Emergency where there is a breakdown of public order or imminent danger to life and property.”
Amid the intensifying violence in Benue State, a legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has issued a public statement urging President Bola Tinubu to invoke constitutional powers and declare a “state of emergency” to curb the ongoing security breakdown.
Ejiofor, who is also counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), described the situation in Benue as a “relentless and gruesome massacre of innocent civilians,” adding that “following the recent exoneration of Fulani herdsmen by the executive governor, Hyacinth Alia, it has become imperative for the Nigerian government under Tinubu to invoke its constitutional mandate to protect lives and preserve national security.” Travel guides for Nigeria
He cited Section 305(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which he said “empowers the President to declare a State of Emergency where there is a breakdown of public order or imminent danger to life and property.”
“Given the scale and persistence of the ongoing attacks – allegedly perpetrated by foreign militias infiltrating through the Cameroon border as reported by the Governor – this constitutional threshold has clearly been surpassed,” Ejiofor stated.
He warned against politicising the crisis, saying, “This is no time for political appeasement or partisan manoeuvring. The foremost duty of any government is the protection of its citizens and the defence of its territorial integrity. By absolving known actors and trivialising verified threats, the Benue State government risks eroding the very foundation of national security coordination.”
Calling for firm federal intervention, Ejiofor demanded that “the Federal Government must empower the Nigerian security apparatus with full operational autonomy to launch comprehensive operations aimed at identifying, isolating, and neutralising the foreign insurgents terrorising peaceful communities. These unprovoked assaults on the aboriginal people of Yelwata and surrounding villages must be confronted with a unified national resolve.”Travel guides for Nigeria
He also criticised Governor Alia’s handling of the crisis, remarking that “the Governor, as a former spiritual leader turned political figure, must recognise that in times of crisis, leadership demands constitutional fidelity, courage, and unequivocal action – not deflection or denial.”
“If the burden of political office has become too heavy, perhaps a return to the pulpit may better serve his conscience and calling,” he stated.
Decrying the human cost of the violence, he stressed that “the lives of Benue’s indigenous peoples must never be reduced to political bargaining chips. Their only ‘crime,’ it seems, is their ancestral heritage and legitimate claim to their homeland.”
Ejiofor concluded his statement with a solemn warning: “Nigeria stands at a crossroads. History will neither forget nor forgive those who remained silent or complicit in the face of a preventable genocide. The time for rhetorical posturing is over. The time for decisive constitutional action is now.”
The crisis in Benue state has led to global outrage.
Previously, the United Nations acknowledged that it is monitoring the ongoing massacre in Benue State.
This was disclosed by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. “We’re monitoring the situation,” he said.
“The Secretary-General condemns the killing of innocent civilians, including in Nigeria, and we hope that those responsible for this violence will be found and apprehended.”
This development comes amid growing outrage over the continued killings and the seeming inability of the government to halt the massacres.
In a related development, Amnesty International, in a strongly-worded statement, said: “The horrifying killing of over 100 people by gunmen that invaded Yelewata from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday shows the security measures government claims to be implementing in the state are not working.”
The human rights watchdog decried the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region, warning that “the Nigerian authorities must immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.”
President Tinubu has scheduled to visit on Wednesday after condemnations on his refusal to visit the state.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state
The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes
Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.
Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.
He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.
The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.
Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.
Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.
Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.
Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.
Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.
Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.
The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.
“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.
“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.
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New Twist As El-Rufai Snubs ADC, Announces Another Party To Vote In Kaduna Bye-Election [ Video Trends]
Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared to have taken a reverse from the coalition’s adopted political platform, ADC
This is as the former governor took to social media and asked the people of Zaria, Chikun to vote for another party in the Saturday, August 16 (today), bye-elections in the constituencies in Kaduna
Recall that the former governor recently visited Sokoto to canvass support for the ADC, while criticising President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.
Click to watch El-Rufai’s video here
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) August 14, 2025
Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.
Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.
El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.
During his visit to Sokoto, the former governor attended two important events meant to sensitise the people and political stakeholders working to achieve the agenda of sacking President Tinubu and the APC in the next general election.
During his address at the event, the former governor lambasted the ruling party and called them ‘a failed, clannish, and visionless administration that has plunged Nigeria into deeper socio-economic misery’.
He declared that it was time for Nigerians to rise against the APC and accused the party of ‘broken promises and elite conspiracy’. He warned that any move to vote for the APC beyond 2027 would be a greater doom for the country.
However, in a sharp turn, the former governor, in a video posted on his social media page ahead of the by-election, urged the people in the constituencies where the poll will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, August 16, to vote for the SDP rather than the ADC he went to Sokoto to canvass for.
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