Benue Under Siege by Terrorists, Not Just Herdsmen – Gov. Alia
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has raised alarm over escalating violence in the state, declaring that the crisis has gone beyond the traditional herders-farmers conflict.
Speaking in response to a series of deadly attacks, Alia stated that Benue is now under siege by terrorists and bandits employing guerrilla-style tactics. According to him, these are not random clashes but deliberate assaults by highly trained killers who strike under the cover of darkness and leave no trace.
The governor expressed concern that none of the perpetrators have been apprehended so far, despite the rising death toll across several local government areas. His remarks follow a fresh attack by suspected armed herdsmen on the Makurdi–Naka road Friday evening, which reportedly left several dead and many injured.
The governor, who made this declaration on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, 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,” he said.
