Benue State has, for years, remained one of the focal points of insecurity in the North Central region. Attacks on rural communities, clashes along border areas, and the activities of armed groups have repeatedly threatened lives, livelihoods and the fragile stability of the region. Against this backdrop, the Army Chief’s visit to Makurdi and his engagement with traditional leaders represents an important strategic step toward strengthening the broader architecture of peace.
Central to the visit was an assessment of Operation Whirl Stroke, the multi-service security initiative designed to coordinate the efforts of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force in confronting security threats across Benue and neighbouring states such as Nasarawa and Taraba. The operation was created to ensure rapid and decisive responses to emerging threats in the Middle Belt, and the Army’s renewed attention to it signals a determination to improve its effectiveness.
Military operations, however, do not succeed in isolation. Recognising this reality, the Chief of Army Staff sought the cooperation of the state’s traditional leadership, including the Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty Professor James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse. By engaging these leaders directly, the Army is acknowledging a crucial fact: traditional institutions remain one of the most trusted and influential structures in many rural communities.
Traditional rulers possess a level of grassroots reach that formal security agencies often struggle to achieve. They understand local dynamics, receive early warning signals about emerging threats, and can influence community attitudes in ways that government institutions sometimes cannot. Their voices can discourage collaboration with criminal elements, counter misinformation, and encourage citizens to cooperate with security forces.
This is particularly important in regions where distrust, fear and misinformation have sometimes complicated security operations. When communities feel disconnected from security agencies, criminals often exploit the resulting gaps to hide, recruit or move freely. Bridging this divide requires trust—and trust is often built through the institutions that communities respect the most.
In Benue, the military is now attempting to combine that community engagement with strengthened operational capacity. According to the Army Chief, troop density will be increased along vulnerable corridors, particularly around the Benue–Taraba axis. The deployment of additional forces, enhanced logistics support and improved surveillance assets are intended to give security forces greater operational dominance and faster response capability.
Such measures are necessary. Rural communities in the Middle Belt are often spread across difficult terrain, with limited infrastructure and wide distances between settlements. Criminal groups frequently exploit these conditions, launching attacks and retreating before security forces can respond. Increasing troop presence and improving surveillance therefore becomes essential to closing these gaps.
Yet, as Lt. Gen. Shaibu emphasised during the visit, security ultimately remains a shared responsibility. Military strength can suppress violent actors, but sustainable peace requires communities to reject violence, refuse to shield criminals and actively support lawful authority.
This point was echoed by the Tor Tiv, who acknowledged the sacrifices of the Nigerian Army while also urging more preventive strategies. His call for deeper integration of grassroots intelligence into operational planning highlights a critical aspect of modern security management. Intelligence gathered from communities often provides the earliest indicators of emerging threats.
If properly harnessed, such intelligence can help prevent attacks rather than merely responding to them. Structured collaboration between security agencies and traditional institutions can therefore create a more proactive security framework—one capable of detecting and neutralising threats before they escalate into violence.
Another dimension of the Army Chief’s visit is the broader national context. With general elections approaching, the need for stability across the country becomes even more pressing. Electoral periods can sometimes heighten tensions, particularly in regions already grappling with security challenges. Ensuring that communities feel safe enough to participate in civic processes is therefore a fundamental responsibility of the security forces.
The Army’s strategy in Benue appears to recognise this reality. By strengthening operational capabilities while simultaneously building partnerships with community leaders, the military is attempting to create an environment where security efforts are both forceful and inclusive.
Still, the success of this approach will depend on consistency and trust. Engagement with traditional leaders must go beyond symbolic visits and evolve into sustained cooperation. Intelligence sharing, community dialogue, and local participation in early-warning mechanisms must become regular features of security operations.
Equally important is communication. Communities need to understand not only what the military is doing, but why it is doing it. Clear communication helps counter rumours and misinformation that can undermine security efforts.
Benue’s experience offers a broader lesson for Nigeria’s security strategy. In complex conflicts involving local grievances, territorial disputes and organised criminality, durable peace rarely emerges from military action alone. It grows from a combination of security, community engagement and institutional collaboration.
The Army’s outreach to traditional leadership in Benue suggests that this understanding is taking root. If sustained and properly implemented, such partnerships could strengthen not only the fight against criminal elements in the Middle Belt but also the broader relationship between security forces and the communities they serve.
Peace, after all, is not imposed by force—it is built through cooperation. And in Benue today, that cooperation may well determine whether the current push for stability becomes a lasting reality or merely another chapter in a long cycle of conflict.
Olayemi Esan is a Nigerian broadcast journalist and a Public Relations Practitioner. She is SpyeTVs’ Managing Director and an African Defence Correspondent. Ashe can be reached via email yemiesan04@gmail.com or +2348035132961
