In a move that has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s Middle Belt, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Christopher Musa is accused of betraying victims of the Yelwata massacre by calling for nationwide Fulani cattle ranches instead of demanding justice for the slain.
Critics, led by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), allege Musa’s remarks amount to a “veiled endorsement of impunity” and a blueprint for further Islamisation of Christian-majority regions.
Their intervention has ignited fierce debate on bias, counterinsurgency, and national security data credibility, just days after over 200 unarmed residents were slaughtered in coordinated attacks in Benue State on 13–14 June.
Gruesome Toll of the Yelwata Massacre
Between Friday night and Saturday morning on 13–14 June 2025, Fulani militants unleashed one of the deadliest assaults in recent Nigerian history.
Eyewitnesses report homes torched, market stalls turned into pyres, and charred bodies strewn through the hamlet of Yelwata, leaving 100 to 200 villagers dead and some 3,000 displaced.
Pope Leo XIV decried this “terrible massacre” of internally displaced Christians, while President Bola Tinubu, during his 18 June visit, lamented the “senseless bloodletting” and pressed for arrests—yet barely a suspect has been named.
Intersociety’s Scathing Rebuttal
On 25 July, Intersociety’s Chairman Emeka Umeagbalasi issued a blistering statement, accusing Gen Musa of “bias, insensitivity, and complicity” by championing Fulani ranches while remaining mute on the slaughter of Benue’s rural communities.
“By lauding ‘RUGA’‑style settlements,” Umeagbalasi warned, Musa reveals adherence to the “Thou Shall Not Arrest My Fellow Fulani Tribesmen” doctrine first seen under the Buhari administration and preserved by Tinubu.
The group contends that the ₦60 billion ranch‑incentive fund is a Trojan Horse to implant “New Fulani Communities” and possibly jihadist enclaves in Christian lands.
Echoes of the Disputed RUGA Policy
This is not unprecedented. In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari’s RUGA policy—intended to stem coordinator attacks by Fulani militants by establishing Federal Grazing Reserves—collapsed under fierce opposition.
Southern governors, Indigenous leaders and civil society decried it as land-grab scheming, a covert vehicle for ethnic expansionism and “Fulanisation” of the Middle Belt.
Despite its suspension, the idea of fenced ranches endures in military and political circles as a preferred security panacea.
Debunking the “500 Million Illicit Arms” Claim
In a separate salvo, Gen Musa’s assertion that 40% of West Africa’s illicit weapons—200 million arms—reside in Nigeria has been ridiculed as statistically absurd.
The entire West African population stands at approximately 467 million, rendering Musa’s figure equivalent to one illegal firearm per person, including infants.
Intersociety castigates this claim as “unverified and lacking scientific merit,” raising doubts over the CDS’s national security data management and suggesting that such hyperbole could be leveraged to justify draconian measures or misallocate scarce resources.
Rising Jihadist Threat and Regional Precedent
While Musa insists ranches will “secure control” and defuse communal violence, recent jihadist advances across the Sahel caution otherwise.
Al‑Qaeda affiliate JNIM’s brutal campaign—killing over 400 troops in Mali and seizing towns in northern Benin—reveals that militant groups exploit security vacuums and local grievances to entrench Islamic rule.
Experts warn that militarised settlements without robust intelligence and oversight risk becoming “terrorist havens,” echoing fears voiced by Intersociety of “military‑sponsored jihadist settlements.”
Demand for Accountability and Transparent Security Policy
In the wake of renewed violence—14 Christians killed in Plateau State on 24 July, ostensibly celebrating the CDS’s pronouncements—civil liberties advocates urge domestic and international watchdogs to scrutinise Musa’s role in sectarian conflicts.
A former Nigerian army intelligence officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, likened the defence chief’s approach to “painting a target on every farmhouse in the Middle Belt,” calling instead for a balanced security strategy: swift justice for massacre perpetrators, rigorous arms control, and community‑based peacebuilding.
Gen Christopher Musa now stands at a crossroads: continue advocating policies that critics brand as partisan and dangerous, or heed calls for impartial leadership, data-driven counterinsurgency, and real accountability for Nigeria’s vulnerable communities.
As the nation grapples with relentless rural bloodshed, the fate of the Middle Belt may well hinge on whether its top military commander chooses unity over division.
