Community leaders call for peace, accountability in Middle Belt

Community leaders and stakeholders recently gathered at the News Central Town Hall to address the escalating violence in the Middle Belt, calling for urgent action to restore peace and ensure accountability.

Speaking on the crisis in Mangu, Manneseh Zugumtun, conflict victim, accused members of the Fulani community of worsening tensions and urged the government to take swift measures to bring stability to the region.

Zachary Gundu, president of the Tiv Professional Group, stressed that no community has the right to seize land or threaten the livelihoods of others, calling for respect and peaceful coexistence among all groups.

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Echoing the need for fairness, Prophet Isa El-Buba, a Fulani indigene and General Overseer of EBOMI ministry, insisted that perpetrators of violence must be punished regardless of their ethnic background, emphasising that justice should be blind to tribal affiliation.

The gathering ended with a strong appeal for decisive government intervention to address the underlying causes of conflict, ensure equal justice, and promote lasting peace across the diverse communities of the Middle Belt.

In his closing remarks, Kayode Akintemi, News Central’s managing director, addressed the audience and expressed his heavy heart at the reports of violence and conflict that were shared. He urged affected parties to continue striving for justice and peace despite the odds. Akintemi also charged security agencies on the need to secure the lives and properties of citizens in the region, regardless of ethnicity and region.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.