Benue Gov raises alarm over escalating terror attacks, says crisis has gone beyond herder-farmer clashes

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has sounded the alarm over a troubling rise in violence across the state, warning that the wave of attacks is no longer just a case of herder-farmer conflict but a sign of coordinated terrorist activity.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Governor Alia emphasized that recent attacks in various communities were not random or isolated but rather part of a calculated and well-orchestrated campaign of terror.

“We are under siege,” the governor said when asked whether the state was under a terror threat. “The way these attacks come and the intel we receive, it is a directed calibrated plan and then executed.”

Alia disclosed that intelligence reports indicate a high degree of planning behind the violence, with around 60 to 65 percent of these reports proving to be accurate.

“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 emphasized.

In recent weeks, parts of Benue have experienced a surge in violence, with multiple local governments reporting deadly incursions. The governor warned that the tactics employed by the assailants resemble 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 added.

Governor Alia also alleged that some federal lawmakers are behind the attacks, accusing them of actively supporting and funding the violent groups operating within the state.

Though he did not mention any names, the governor said that an interim report from a judicial panel he established had already implicated several high-profile figures. He promised decisive action upon receiving 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,” he said.

“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.”

The governor’s remarks come amid growing insecurity in the North-Central region, with residents and local leaders calling for increased federal intervention and accountability.