Mutfwang pushes for regional strategy to tackle insecurity

By Golok Nanmwa

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, on Monday, called for a coordinated regional security strategy to confront the worsening insecurity across the North Central, warning that sustained attacks on communities pose a threat to Nigeria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Mutfwang, who spoke as a panellist at the 2026 North Central Security Summit in Makurdi, Benue State, said states in the region must move beyond isolated responses and adopt a united, intelligence-driven approach to tackling the security crisis.

The summit was organised by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, North Central.

The governor challenged the recurring description of violence in the region as mere farmer-herder clashes, arguing that the pattern and scale of attacks in several communities pointed to a more organised threat that required urgent and decisive action.

He described the situation as an invasion of communities, particularly in areas where vulnerable populations had been deliberately targeted and displaced from their ancestral homes.

A statement signed by Dr Bere Gyang his director of press and public affairs reads that Mutfwang said many displaced persons in Plateau State were still unable to return to their communities because the security conditions required for their safe and sustainable resettlement had yet to be fully established.

According to him, leaders must confront the security challenge with honesty, courage and urgency, considering its devastating consequences on poverty, economic deprivation, food production and development.

He said, “Leaders must confront insecurity with honesty and a sense of urgency because of its effects on poverty, economic deprivation and development.

“Security agencies must move beyond reactionary responses and trace attackers to their sources and routes.”

The governor also raised concerns over the movement of armed attackers into Plateau State through routes linking parts of the North-West with Taraba and Nasarawa states, exploiting porous borders and difficult-to-monitor corridors.

He called for improved intelligence gathering, stronger inter-state cooperation and coordinated operations among security agencies to identify and block routes used by criminal elements.

Mutfwang further urged security agencies to intensify efforts to dislodge criminal elements from their hideouts and prevent them from establishing permanent footholds in communities.

He advocated closer collaboration among North Central states, military formations, the police and other security agencies, as well as neighbouring states and regions, to halt the movement of armed groups across territorial boundaries.

The governor maintained that insecurity should be viewed as a collective threat to the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Nigeria rather than being treated merely as ordinary criminality or isolated communal disputes.

Speaking at the summit, the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), said the gathering was convened to enable government and security stakeholders hear directly from people in the region about the realities of threats confronting their communities.

Musa said the summit was designed to build a common understanding and develop practical approaches towards addressing the security challenges facing the North Central region.

The Defence Minister noted that security remained a collective responsibility and commended the people of the region for their resilience in the face of persistent challenges.

He stressed the need to create a secure environment that would enable farmers to safely access their farms and communities while ensuring that other economic activities thrive.

Musa also reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to strengthening security across the country and addressing challenges undermining peace, livelihoods and national development.

Other dignitaries at the summit included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the host Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia; and the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule.

The governors of Kogi and Niger states were represented by their respective delegates.

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