Renowned legal expert Professor Sebastine Hon, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has formally petitioned President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Benue State amid escalating insecurity that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent attacks.

In his petition, Hon criticized Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia for dismissing the deadly attacks as mere "skirmishes" and failing to respond appropriately to the security crisis engulfing the state.

The senior advocate highlighted recent violent incidents, including a daylight attack on Agan Community in Makurdi on May 29, 2025, and deadly assaults on Naka and Edikwu-Ankpali communities on June 1, 2025. Hon expressed outrage that the governor has neither issued official condemnations nor visited affected communities.

Governor's Response Criticized

"The fact that the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, keeps labelling the massive killings going on in Benue State as mere 'skirmishes' and therefore justifying his unwillingness to address the matter," Hon stated in his petition.

The legal expert noted that while Agan Community was under attack on May 29, "our dear Governor has not deemed it fit to issue a statement consoling the victims, not to talk of visiting the bereaved families/scene of attack. Indeed, he was dancing around on podiums in celebration of his two years in office on that same day."

Hon also referenced Senate President Godswill Akpabio's public criticism of Governor Alia for remaining silent after over 50 citizens were killed in previous attacks.

Military Complicity Allegations

The petition raises serious concerns about potential military complicity in the ongoing violence. Hon cited multiple incidents where military personnel allegedly failed to respond to attacks despite their proximity to the scenes.

"Agan Community in the North Bank area of Makurdi Metropolis was attacked on May 29, 2025, in broad daylight by the terrorists. Even though there is a military barracks in the same North Bank, no soldier was deployed to arrest the situation," Hon wrote.

He also mentioned the May 24 attack on Rev. Fr. Solomon Atongo, which occurred just 500 meters from a military checkpoint with no intervention from soldiers until after the attackers had fled.

"There are several online allegations of the complicity of the military in the attacks. Only on May 31, 2025, Catholic priests directly accused the military of complicity and further informed the whole world how the Church has lost priests and laity and has closed over 15 parishes in Benue State," the petition stated.

Call for Decisive Presidential Action

Hon urged President Tinubu to declare a state of military emergency in Benue State pursuant to Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He drew parallels with the United States, noting that "as at the end of April, 2025, ninety (90) emergencies had been declared in US history, out of which 41 have expired. Nonetheless, most of those proclamations substantially achieved their goals."

The petition concluded with a strong recommendation: "I conclude by urging Mr. President to order a removal and replacement of all the military commanders in Benue State. If possible, even the ground troops should also be replaced. The way and manner they are operating in the state is clearly unsatisfactory."

As of publication time, there has been no official response from the Presidency or the Benue State Government regarding the petition.