Former governor of Bayelsa State and serving senator, Seriake Dickson, has extended condolences to the governments and people of Benue and Plateau following the recent deadly attacks in both states.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Dickson described the killings as “dastardly and callous”; acts targeting innocent citizens. He decried the alarming rise in criminality, lawlessness, and violence across several Nigerian states, including Benue, Plateau, and Zamfara.
The lawmaker likened the bandit attacks to the Boko Haram insurgency that devastated the North-East, warning that the country is now witnessing a broader breakdown of law and order.
He urged Nigeria’s leadership and security agencies to engage in honest, strategic discussions to address the deepening security crisis.
Dickson cited underlying drivers of the violence, such as competition over resources, illegal mining, climate change-related conflicts, and persistent herder-farmer clashes.
As a long-term solution, the former governor advocated for a nationwide ban on open grazing and the implementation of mandatory ranching.
He also called on relevant ministries and institutions to provide adequate funding and enforce sustainable agricultural and land-use practices.
“This is a national imperative,”; Dickson emphasized, stressing the need for collaboration between security forces and local community leaders to combat banditry and enforce peacebuilding measures.
He warned that the recurring violence signals a failure of the state and pledged to bring the matter before relevant authorities in the coming days.
