Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has raised alarm over a wave of violent attacks in the state, declaring that terrorism—not the traditional conflict between farmers and herders—is now the root of the crisis.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, the governor described the recent incidents as coordinated assaults executed by trained killers, whom he identified as terrorists.
“We are under siege,” Governor Alia declared during the interview.
He continued, “The way these attacks come and the intel we receive, it is a directed calibrated plan and then executed. On a daily basis, we are receiving those intel. Of late, each of the intel we receive, 60 to 65 per cent of it is quite accurate.”
According to Alia, the pattern of the violence and the precision of the operations show that these are no longer spontaneous community disputes.
“And then when you realise what is going on, it is beyond just conflict, it is beyond just an ethnic fight between herders and farmers in our state, it is directed, it is planned and then it is executed, it is some terrorism,” he said.
The governor also expressed frustration that those behind the attacks continue to evade justice, emphasizing their stealth tactics.
“For some reason, none of them is ever caught, they come in in the thick of the night, hit, run and nobody sees a trace. So, it is some terrorism that is eating us up,” he lamented.
Governor Alia further pointed fingers at unnamed political figures in Abuja, accusing them of being complicit in the violence by providing support to the attackers. He referenced an ongoing judicial investigation into the matter.
“We set up a judicial panel to sort out for us why we kept having attacks from within and from without and we have received an interim report. Between Tuesday and Wednesday next week, I am going to get a full report from the panel,” he explained.
He alleged that some National Assembly members were behind the atrocities.
“It is very unsettling because some politicians who are very functional and are in the National Assembly and are in Abuja are the architects and arrowheads of not just instigating but harbouring and keeping these people, keeping them in the bushes and taking care of all their bills and buying all the gadgets for them,” Alia stated.
Calling their actions unacceptable, the governor vowed to confront the issue directly once the full report is submitted.
“This is extremely unacceptable. If they do not like the lives of the people and are fighting for their own political position, I think I am serving the interest of the common masses and it is my right to protect them,” he asserted.
“So, once we receive this report the coming week, we are going to take it up and take it seriously,” he concluded.
