Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Olufemi Oluyede, says evidence gathered by field commanders suggests that the latest wave of massacres in Benue State may be the work of foreign mercenaries, not Nigerian nationals.
Oluyede’s revelation came on Saturday at the opening of the Nigerian Army’s Civil-Military Cooperation quarterly media chat in Akure. Represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division, Major-General Obinna Onubogu, the army chief said the attackers’ tactics and brutality “do not reflect any kind of Nigerian value system.”
“We are mindful that some of these people may be foreign elements,” Oluyede told journalists. “The behaviour we are seeing is utterly despicable, the way they go about their work—nothing Nigerian about it.” Condemning the killings and mass displacement in Benue communities, Oluyede disclosed that the army is refining its operational strategy and will launch an expanded offensive in the coming weeks:
“In Benue particularly, you will see very elaborate security arrangements to ensure that all that is going on there completely stops. We shall go after them and by God’s grace, we will get them.”
He added that troops remain actively engaged across multiple flash-points, including Plateau, Kwara, and other Middle-Belt states experiencing armed violence.
Citing directives from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the COAS said the military has already deployed additional personnel and assets to hot-spot areas:
“The President has given very clear orders for us to go out there. And so we are out—fully deployed and tackling the menace head-on.”
Oluyede appealed to affected communities to provide timely and credible information, noting that Nigeria’s vast terrain and relatively modest troop numbers make rapid response challenging without local cooperation:
“Nigeria is a vast country, and we are not as large in number as many believe. We rely heavily on human intelligence. We need the population to speak up.”
Benue State has witnessed a surge in deadly raids on villages, the worst of which in Yelwata left more than 200 dead earlier this month. Survivors described assailants wearing unfamiliar combat gear and speaking languages not commonly heard in the area—fueling speculation of foreign involvement.
Joint Operations: The army is expected to integrate air and special-forces elements into its Benue campaign. Border Surveillance: Military sources say new forward-operating bases will be established along porous border corridors to block foreign fighters.
Community Liaison Teams: Civil-military units will step up engagement with local leaders to rebuild trust and streamline intelligence flow.
For residents of Benue’s embattled villages, the COAS’s pledge offers a glimmer of hope though many say only sustained action, not words, will end the bloodshed.
