Benue State Governor, Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has stated that he does not support the idea of residents arming themselves in self-defence, despite the rising number of attacks in parts of the state.
Amid increasing calls for communities to defend themselves against insurgents, Governor Alia, in a live chat with AIT on June 17, said that such a move would only make people more vulnerable. He instead advocated for the implementation of effective community and state policing.
“I think we would be rendering ourselves even more vulnerable. So, I wouldn’t advocate for self-defence. I would encourage us all to keep calling for community policing because it is only people from within the state and the LGA who would understand what is going on with them,” the governor said.
When asked whether the violence in Benue qualifies as genocide or ethnic cleansing, the governor responded cautiously, attempting to fit the situation within the definitions of both terms.
“Genocide… I am trying to fit in the parameters of the description. This is what is happening to us. When a number of local government areas are being attacked at different fronts, when we repel some, there is a push back and then they now move to the other corner and invite their bad friends to come in again, join their ranks to continue the fights. When they come in, they care less about who is on the way – a farmer, market woman, child, old woman or man, school children – and then your properties do not matter. They just crush anything in their way.”
He continued by addressing the ethnic dimensions of the attacks, noting that while the state is home to multiple ethnic groups, the Tiv people—who are primarily farmers—have been disproportionately affected.
“We have a number of tribes in the state but the three major ones are Tiv, Idoma and Igede. All three have been under attack at various times, but the current focus is on the Tiv axis, where most of the farming happens. These areas have vast, unmanned lands where the attacks occur.”
While uncertain about categorizing the crisis as ethnic cleansing, Governor Alia acknowledged the destructive pattern of attacks and the strategic targeting of vulnerable populations and agricultural hubs.
“So when they say ethnic cleansing, I am not sure it is an appropriate description of what we suffer. But I can tell you that once they come in, anything in their way that would destabilize them, they first attack and then go for the most vulnerable.”
The governor's remarks come amid heightened insecurity in the state, with many communities devastated by continuous assaults attributed to armed herders and insurgents.
