Ex-EFCC Boss Farida Waziri Urges Benue Leaders to Unite Against Insecurity, Donates Relief to Attack Victims

Advertisements

Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri (AIG rtd), has called on leaders in Benue State to set aside political differences and unite to tackle the escalating insecurity plaguing the state.

Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner at Brookfield Chambers Abuja, made the appeal on Saturday, June 28, 2025, while distributing relief materials to victims of recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi.

The donation, made under her non-governmental organization, Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), included bags of rice, sugar, yam tubers, and other essential household items.

In her address, Waziri emphasized the urgent need for collective action, stating: “This is no time for division, political squabbling, or ego-driven manoeuvres. We have former governors, legislators, and traditional rulers among us—people with influence and authority. We must unite for the sake of the ordinary Benue citizen.”

Quoting Sir Winston Churchill, she warned: “If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed, you may reach a point where you must fight with all odds against you.”

She linked her appeal to President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Benue, stressing that meetings alone would not end the violence. “Peace requires confronting root causes—ethnic and religious tensions, banditry, cultism, drug abuse, and herder-farmer conflicts. We must act with honesty and courage,” she said.

Waziri urged all Benue indigenes, both at home and in the diaspora, to work together to end the cycle of violence, saying: “We must ensure no child grows up in an IDP camp instead of a home.”

Her intervention highlights growing concerns over the persistent attacks in Benue and the need for decisive leadership to restore peace.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

See author's posts