The group, therefore, called on the two regions to unite against common threats to their survival.
The Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities Forum (SONAMIBF) has called on the indigenous peoples in the South and Middle Belt areas to unite in order to resist the growing threats of terrorism in the two zones.
The group said the occupation of River Niger by terrorists will open access to weapons and logistic supply through the river which runs from Guinea to Mali and Niger where terrorists already have strongholds.
The group said rising cases of terror in the two regions occasioned by forceful occupation of ancestral land pose a big threat to food security and livelihood of the peoples of the regions.
In a statement on Friday signed by its President, Sidney Imobhio, a lawyer, Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities Forum, (SONAMIBF said terrorism remains a major threat to the livelihood of the South and Middle Belt peoples.
A statement on Friday signed by the President of SONAMIBF, Sidney Imobhio, said terrorism remains a major threat to the livelihood of the South and Middle Belt peoples.
The movement said Nigeria and Nigerians are in their darkest period, adding that it appears there is no light of hope in the tunnels now or in the near future.
The statement said, "Terrorism is a major threat to indigenous peoples of the Middle Belt and South. Thousands of people have been killed by terrorists operating in the two areas. Their forests are occupied. The Middle Belt is no longer the food basket. Farmers are chased away from their farms. Livelihood stands at a peril. Only a united front can save the people from total destruction by terrorists who are alien to the cultures of the people.
"We are worried by the occupation of River Niger by terrorists. This is nothing but aggression against the people of the Middle Belt and South. River Niger takes its source from Guinea and runs through Mali and Niger Republics. These armed groups will receive weapons using small vessels through River Niger. The prospect of an invasion of Middle Belt and the South by terrorists is real.”
The group, therefore, called on the two regions to unite against common threats to their survival.
It said billions of funds are being raised by terrorists through the kidnapping of South and Middle Belt peoples and that the funds are used to buy more arms to attack and rob the people of their ancestral land.
It continued, "We the members of Southern Nigeria, Middle Belt And Northern Minorities Forum (SONAMIBF) wish to see people from the South, Middle Belt and Northern Minorities unite in the face of existential threats."
The Forum was formed to legitimately fight back terrorists, herdsmen, kidnappers, bandits, and all other aggressors spearheaded by our enemies.
The group said, "The Forum is mainly calling for unity of purpose between the people in these zones who have been at the receiving end, especially since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015.”
The group said it was during the Buhari administration that the former IGP, Mohammed Adamu (retd) ordered the withdrawal of firearms, mainly from the South and Middle Belt before the emergence of Fulani herdsmen, who attack with AK47s. It expressed worry over missing weapons in the police armoury.
It said, "Now, police audit reports have said that 178,459 firearms and ammunition are missing from the police armoury. What opinion can anyone deduce from this last sentence? No state of emergency has ever been declared in the areas that are mostly infested with terrorists, bandits and kidnappers. Until a few weeks ago, bandits were not declared terrorists but the IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) was. We cannot afford any further to recklessly undermine our future or that of our children and their generations to come for whatever reasons."
On the dwindling economy, the group said the country is already polarized and is facing difficult times to extricate itself from the chain of wasted loans obtained from different countries by the President on one hand, and the perilous status insecurity and corruption have attained on the other hand.
It accused some southern leaders of conniving with the Fulani oligarchs to lace their private pockets with the "wealth of all of us, including our children and their generations to come. We encourage, clap, and cheer them up to pauperize all of us the more. With a pittance, they can hire some youths that are already very hungry and ready to do anything including harassment, kidnapping, maiming, or even kill anyone that speaks against their nefarious activities."
It said, "Why are we (Southerners, Middle Belters and Northern Minorities) docile and mum like ‘a lame duck’? Does it mean we have given up our own life and our fatherland now? Are we, therefore, waiting for the Fulani to sentence us and our children to the guillotine machine? I don’t think that’s right. We must resist this unprovoked onslaught by the Fulani and their sponsors."
The group called on the people to resist oppression and defend themselves if need be.
"We cannot accept or justify the killings of our people in these zones simply because the same Fulani are perpetrating evil against their own. Boko Haram, Cattle Rustling, and Banditry are alien to southerners and Middle Belters. If we want peace to reign, we must unite to stop our common enemy from onwards surge and invasion with the attendant introduction of evil into our culture. Unity of Purpose is the only answer," it added.