Attackers are Malians speaking Fulani not Nigerians – Gov Alia speaks on Benue killings

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has claimed that the armed Fulani herders responsible for attacks in the state are not Nigerians but Malians.

Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Alia explained that the attackers’ language differs from the Hausa and Fulani dialects commonly spoken in Nigeria.

The governor noted that these assailants, who have carried out deadly attacks in areas such as Otukpo, Ado, and Logo, are heavily armed and do not resemble local Fulani people.

Benue State has faced repeated violence from herders, resulting in numerous casualties.

According to Alia: “We know Nigerians—by our ethnicities, we can identify a Fulani man, a Yoruba man, a Hausa man—we know them.

“Even the regular traditional herders, we know them. They work with cows, herding them with sticks.

“But these folks, the attackers, are coming in fully armed with AK-47s and 49s. They do not bear the Nigerian look. They don’t speak like we do. Even the Hausa they speak is one sort of Hausa.

“It’s not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak. So it is with the Fulani they speak. There is a trend in the language they speak, and some of our people who understand what they speak give it names.

“They say they are Malians and different from our people. But they are not Nigerians—believe it.”