Saturday, June 7, 2025 - The governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has declared that the state is under siege from terrorists and bandits, saying that the recent attacks that have claimed the lives of several residents of the state are beyond herders-farmers clash.
There has been a surge in attacks in the North-Central state
in recent weeks, with several local government areas experiencing violent
onslaughts that have claimed numerous lives.
Governor Alia, who was a guest on Channels Television’s
Politics Today on Friday, June 6, said that the attacks are well planned and
executed by terrorists.
“We are
under siege. 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 those intel we receive, 60 to 65 per cent of it
is quite accurate.
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.”Gov Alia said
The governor insists that he no longer views the attacks as
a clash between farmers and herders, stating that they now involve specialized
killers—terrorists who engage in a form of guerrilla warfare.
“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 said
The governor went on to accuse some serving politicians in
the National Assembly of sponsoring the attacks in Benue State, saying that it
is unacceptable. Although he did not name the politicians, the governor said
that an interim report of a judicial panel he set up, indicted many big names
and vowed to take up the matter as soon as he receives the full report next
week.
“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.
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.
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.
So, once we
receive this report the coming week, we are going to take it up and take it
seriously.” he said
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