President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger cooperation between the government, security agencies and stakeholders across the North-Central to tackle insecurity and establish lasting peace in the region.
Tinubu made the call on Monday at the 2026 North-Central Regional Security Summit in Makurdi, Benue State, where he urged traditional and religious leaders, communities, youths, women, development partners and private sector players to play active roles in securing the region.
The summit was held under the theme, ‘Collaborative Approaches to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability.’
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the President said traditional and religious leaders should leverage their close knowledge of their communities to provide early warnings on emerging threats and promote reconciliation.
He also urged Nigerians to provide useful intelligence to security agencies and desist from protecting criminals because of family ties, ethnic connections or other sentiments.
Tinubu further called for greater involvement of women and young people in peace-building, while urging development partners and private investors to view the North-Central not simply as an area in need of intervention but as a region with significant economic opportunities.
“Insecurity transcends state boundaries and institutional mandates, requiring security agencies and communities to overcome rivalry, duplication of efforts and the withholding of vital information.
“No single agency, no single tier of government and no single community can secure this region acting alone. Insecurity does not respect state boundaries or agency mandates.
“Criminals move freely across local government areas while our responses are too often slowed by rivalry, duplication and the withholding of information. That must end.”
The President said his administration had continued to strengthen Nigeria’s security framework by improving cooperation among the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police Force and intelligence agencies, alongside the procurement of new military platforms and advanced operational capabilities.
He said the government was also working to develop the country’s local defence manufacturing capacity through the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, while improving the welfare of military personnel to boost their effectiveness in the field.
Tinubu commended the security forces for their operations against terrorists and other criminal groups, noting that several terrorist commanders and their associates had been neutralised. He added that thousands of fighters had surrendered, captives had been rescued and stability restored in a number of communities.
According to the President, the causes of persistent violent conflicts in the North-Central include competition over land and water, climate change, desertification, unresolved land-use disputes, inadequate local mechanisms for settling disputes and the spread of illegal firearms.
He stressed that security operations must be accompanied by efforts to resolve the conditions that drive violence.
“Military action alone will not deliver lasting peace to the North-Central. Force can suppress violence; it cannot resolve the grievances that produce it,” he said.
Tinubu said the Federal Government would therefore continue to pursue a combination of military operations and development initiatives.
He cited the livestock reforms being implemented through the Ministry of Livestock Development, particularly the move away from open grazing towards modern and settled livestock production, as part of efforts to safeguard farmlands, strengthen pastoral livelihoods and reduce a key source of conflict.
The President also pointed to the Ministry of Defence’s Reclaiming the Ungoverned Space for Economic Benefits Programme, which seeks to use the expertise of retired military personnel to help secure communities affected by violence and support their recovery.
He said investments in irrigation, mechanised farming, rural infrastructure and access to credit under the Renewed Hope Agenda were intended to turn the region’s security and economic challenges into opportunities for growth.
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Addressing traditional and religious leaders, Tinubu said, “To our revered traditional rulers and religious leaders, you hold an authority that no uniform confers. You know your communities intimately. You know when a stranger arrives, when a young man falls into bad company, and when a quarrel between two families is about to become a conflict between two peoples. I ask you to be our first line of early warning and our most trusted voice of reconciliation.”
In his welcome address, Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State described the summit’s theme as timely, given the security challenges affecting Benue and other parts of the country.
Alia said the North-Central required a coordinated security strategy because several parts of the region continued to experience insecurity.
“It is my considered position that our diversity should be a source of strength rather than weakness. What are those things that unite us, and what are those things that divide us and breed insecurity? The issues are multidimensional, and as such, the solution must be collaborative. I have said this in different rooms, and I will say it again here: the moment we set aside our differences to confront the enemy of insecurity, half the battle is already won.”
He said, however, that collaboration must go beyond government communiqués and extend to traditional institutions and community leaders.
Alia noted that the North-Central remains one of Nigeria’s most ethnically diverse regions, arguing that its cultural heritage should serve as a foundation for peace rather than conflict.
“Our heritage does not breed violence, which is reflected in the proud sobriquets of our states: Benue as ‘The Food Basket of the Nation’, Kogi as ‘The Confluence State’, Kwara as the ‘State of Harmony’, Nasarawa as the ‘Home of Solid Minerals’, Plateau as the ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’, Niger as ‘The Power State’, and Abuja as the ‘Centre of Unity’.”
The governor praised the Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for organising the summit.
He described the North-Central as strategically important to Nigeria’s socioeconomic development because of its natural resources, stressing that insecurity in the region has consequences for the entire country.