Disu’s Shoot-on-Sight Order Deepens Benue Security Alarm

Acting Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu has turned Benue into a live test of Nigeria’s security response, after the State House confirmed his appointment in February 2026 and the Nigeria Police Force continued to list him as the current police chief. The latest order lands against a grim backdrop: Reuters reported that at least…

Atlantic Post

July 25, 2026

3–4 minutes

The latest order lands against a grim backdrop: Reuters reported that at least 18 people were killed in a weekend attack in Benue on 13 July 2026, underscoring how quickly the state’s insecurity has escalated from a local crisis into a national emergency.

At the Makurdi stakeholders’ meeting, Disu drew a hard line against armed civilians, warning that only authorised security personnel may carry firearms. He said: “We are the only ones recognised to carry arms around. No other person is entitled to do that.”

He also described the Benue crisis as a source of “sleepless nights” and said the violence had gone beyond a simple farmer-herder clash, with criminal gangs, kidnappers and political interests worsening the bloodshed.

The police are now trying to move from rhetoric to operation. Channels Television reported that the force has identified 14 security flashpoints across Benue and launched a 14-day clearance operation to flush out bandits from forests and other vulnerable areas.

In the same engagement, Disu told residents that “The Nigeria Police belongs to the people. We are here to serve you, not to be your masters,” while urging communities to provide credible intelligence.

That is the operational hinge of the entire strategy: the police want information, local cooperation and quicker targeting, not just more boots on the ground.

But the phrase “shoot on sight” is where the politics, law and public fear collide. The governing document on police firearms use, Force Order 237, does not read like a blank cheque for summary force; it stresses “utmost forbearance” and limits gun use to defined situations, including self-defence, protecting another person, dispersing dangerous riots and arresting certain fleeing suspects.

That distinction matters because the federal security response has to win both the war on crime and the war for legitimacy. Benue residents have watched repeated attacks, displacement and farmland destruction for years, and the latest killings have again triggered public outrage.

Reuters’ 13 July report of at least 18 deaths followed a wider pattern of violence in the state, while local and national broadcasters have continued to record fresh assaults and displacement.

In that environment, a shoot-first headline may satisfy public anger, but the real test is whether intelligence-led operations can reduce deaths without creating new abuses.

There is also a reason to watch the police’s own disciplinary record closely. In April, Punch reported that Disu approved the dismissal and criminal prosecution of officers linked to a fatal shooting in Delta State, with the force saying the officer acted in “gross violation of Force Order 237”.

KThat suggests the police leadership is at least publicly aware that firearm misuse can carry consequences; it also shows that any Benue crackdown will be judged not only by arrests made, but by whether officers remain inside the law while doing it.

The broader security message is clear: the police want to choke off the movement of illegal arms, especially in conflict corridors, and they are asking communities to help identify gun runners, armed gangs and recruiters of violence.

The challenge is that Benue’s insecurity is no longer just about one pattern of conflict. It is now a mixed threat ecosystem involving banditry, kidnapping, reprisal attacks and political opportunism. If the operation is not tightly supervised, transparent and intelligence-led, the state could end up with more fear, not more safety.