Middle Belt Leaders Demand Right to Bear Arms Amid Escalating Terror Attacks

Amid rising insecurity and mass killings in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, a coalition of 77 civil society groups, religious leaders, community stakeholders, and victims’ representatives has issued a powerful communiqué demanding the constitutional right for farming communities to bear arms in self-defence.

The demand followed a high-level Citizens’ Dialogue held virtually on April 26, 2025, and convened by Middle Belt Concern (MBC) under the theme “Defeating Terror in the Middle Belt.” The meeting brought together concerned citizens from across the region who painted a grim picture of unrelenting terror, displacement, and what many described as a looming genocide.

Participants blamed successive governments, including the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for failing in their constitutional duty to protect lives and property. “For more than two decades, our people have been slaughtered while the state looks away,” the communiqué read. “This failure amounts to a betrayal of the Nigerian Constitution and an abandonment of Middle Belt communities.”

Rejecting what they called the false framing of the crisis as climate-related herder-farmer clashes, participants asserted that the violence is instead a deliberate campaign of terror aimed at displacing indigenous populations and seizing ancestral lands.

The dialogue expressed deep frustration with the failure of intelligence services and security agencies to act on credible threats, calling out a pattern of negligence that hints at complicity. Despite known perpetrators and public justifications of violence, the group noted that few, if any, arrests or prosecutions have been made.

In a major resolution, the gathering declared it was time for Middle Belt communities to exercise their constitutional right to self-defence under Section 33(2) of the 1999 Constitution. They urged the National Assembly to amend the Firearms Act of 1959 to allow law-abiding citizens in terror-affected farming communities to legally possess firearms for self-protection.

“It has become clear that Middle Belt citizens need to activate the right to bear arms and be the first line of defence for their communities,” the communiqué stated. It also referenced recent comments by the Director of State Services admitting Nigeria’s security forces are overstretched, with fewer than 400,000 officers for a population exceeding 250 million.

Other key demands included:

• The immediate designation of violent groups operating in the Middle Belt as terrorist organisations, including scrutiny of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN);

• Full compensation and rehabilitation for victims and displaced persons;

• Urgent establishment of a regional security framework, similar to the Amotekun Corps in the South West;

• Transparency in the use of security votes;

• International assistance to stop the killings and rebuild devastated communities.

The dialogue also condemned the harassment of activists and religious leaders, citing threats made against Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, a vocal critic of the violence.

In closing, the Middle Belt Concern coalition warned that the fate of the Middle Belt is inextricably linked to the nation’s future. “If the Middle Belt survives and thrives, Nigeria will survive and thrive,” they declared.

The communiqué was signed by six key representatives: Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, Kiyitwe Gotom, Marie Ene Orgah Esq, Redzie Jugo Esq, Samuel Danauta, and Vitalis Ortese.