Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has dismissed claims suggesting that the Federal Government has failed to support the state in combating a wave of deadly attacks by suspected herdsmen.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Governor Alia emphasised the role of the Federal Government in the ongoing security response.
“If he (President Bola Tinubu) didn’t have an understanding of what is going on, he won’t be giving us full support,” Alia stated.
Providing a breakdown of the security situation, the governor said, “Seventeen local governments out of 23 were under siege and then we fought it down to nine. We fought it down to six and now to three. It came down because of the full support we got from the Federal Government.
“The last time we had some severe attacks, three security units were assigned to us from the Federal Government. They came in and there was a huge shift. Those who had occupied the spaces in the local governments had to leave.”
Benue, a major food-producing state in Nigeria’s North-Central region, has been gripped by prolonged violence, largely attributed to clashes between nomadic herders and indigenous farming communities over land rights. The crisis has escalated into brutal attacks by suspected armed militias masquerading as herders.
In one of the deadliest recent incidents, at least 59 people, including military and civil defense personnel, were killed during a night raid on Yelewata community on Friday, June 15, 2025. Just weeks earlier, in April, similar attacks in Ukum and Logo LGAs claimed around 60 lives. In May, another 42 were killed in Gwer West LGA.
Governor Alia expressed condolences to victims’ families and communities affected by the violence, reaffirming that the Federal Government has shown commitment, citing the recent visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, to the state.
He traced the evolution of the crisis, noting that what began as a farmer-herder conflict has since escalated into militarised invasions by armed groups.
“Before now, we were talking about the farmer-herder crisis. And now, it graduates from there and became the case where the herders came in but the armed men were amongst them and we tagged them: ‘the armed herders’,” he said.
“Now, what we experience generally is that the herds are not being brought but those who are in the frontline carry AK-47 and AK-49. What are their aims? They don’t even come with cows. They attack, they kill and after one or two weeks, a number of people now come back to occupy.”
The governor also raised the possibility of internal collaboration with the attackers, saying, “It is very possible that members of the state may have been recruited into the external militia. We can’t deny that because one or two names have been mentioned. But traditionally, there are some bandits within the territories.
A thief will not just come into a community unless there is someone within the community who lives nearby.”
Governor Alia further blamed the state’s porous borders for the incessant attacks, saying many of the attackers were not Nigerians.
“We share borders with Cameroon, with Taraba, and with Nasarawa,” he said. “They were not necessarily Nigerians speaking the Hausa we know or the Fulanis.”
Highlighting the recurring incursions from neighbouring Nasarawa State, Alia recounted a recent conversation with Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa.
“He said he got some intelligence that the terrorists were coming into his state through Benue.
“When I told him that the havoc had already been caused at Yelewata in Benue, then he said probably, they came and made a touchdown in Yelewata and were going back because he said one person was macheted in Nasarawa State.”
Despite the spate of violence, Governor Alia insists that the Federal Government remains an active partner in the effort to restore peace and secure Benue communities.
