Alia Must Expose Backers of Benue Killers

Those who were last week expecting Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, to name some unidentified politicians and members of the National Assembly of sponsoring incessant killings in the state based on the interim report of the judicial panel he commissioned, are still waiting, Davidson Iriekpen writes

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, recently stirred the hornet’s nest when he raised the alarm that some unnamed politicians and members of the National Assembly were sponsoring the violent attacks in the state.

Although the governor did not name the politicians, he said the attacks were well planned and executed by terrorists and that an interim report of a judicial panel he set up indicted many big names. 

Alia further allegedly queried the perceived silence of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume and his associates on the wave of killings and violence, particularly in the Sankera region.

He, however, vowed to take decisive action on the matter as soon as he receives the panel’s full report.

The governor, during a television interview,  added that the state was under siege from terrorists and bandits, noting that the recent attacks that claimed several lives were beyond a herders-farmers clash.

In his view, the enemies of his state now involve specialised killers – terrorists who engage in a form of guerrilla warfare.

 “We are under siege,” Governor Alia said on the programme when asked if he thought the state was under terror attack. 

“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 that 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.

“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. 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.

“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,” Alia explained.

It is no longer news that in the last 10 years, there have been massive killings in the state while the people are abandoned to their fate. Almost on a daily, bandits and herdsmen raid villages, killing men, women, and children, while also raping and kidnapping countless others. This year alone, over 300 people are believed to have been killed in the state.

This was the case until Governor Alia assumed power on May 29, 2023. Many who thought his tenure would bring peace to the state have been disappointed as the situation has worsened.

Since his inauguration in 2023, there has been a supremacy battle between him and the SGF, Senator Akume, National Assembly lawmakers from the state and some members of the state House of Assembly.

These political leaders appear to be more concerned with fighting a supremacy battle than joining hands to tackle their common enemies who are determined to wipe out the indigenous population.

The political crisis became so embarrassing that the Tiv Traditional Council led by the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, once brokered peace between some of the warring factions, who have since refused to sheathe their swords.

It is believed that a secured Benue alone could feed the entire nation, hence it is commonly referred to as the food basket of Nigeria. It is famous for yams, rice, maize, oranges, mangoes, and other agricultural produce. Yet, for the past 10 years, the state has known peace.

With the unending insecurity in Benue, the state is fast losing its status as the food basket of Nigeria, as people can no longer go to the farms for fear of being killed, maimed, raped or kidnapped.

The Executive Secretary of the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Emmanuel Shior, while briefing journalists on the update on humanitarian crises in the state, said following the recent simultaneous attacks in four local government areas of Gwer West, Agatu, Kwande, Logo and Makurdi, the state currently has over two million IDPs. He added that 18 of the 23 local government areas of the state were under siege.

Shior also accused the federal government of neglecting the humanitarian crisis in the state where internally displaced persons (IDPs) have remained in camps for over five years. He emphasised that leaving the responsibility of addressing their plight to the state government alone had placed a tremendous burden on the state.

Throughout the eight years of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, there was no concerted effort to address the killings in the state despite pressure from local and international observers.

Under President Bola Tinubu the situation is not any better as the federal government has not taken any known deliberate step to handle the situation differently and save the people from incessant attacks even though the governor is also a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor and all who are saddled with the responsibility of securing the indigenes must think outside the box and find a solution to end the persistent carnage in the state. 

Unfortunately, the indigenes of that state had claimed that not a single attacker has been arrested, fuelling the speculations of conspiracy.

The refusal of the leaders to join forces to fight their common enemies just shows that they do not care about the plight of the masses but their interests

The time has come for them to come together and take drastic and decisive action to address the insecurity plaguing the state. Those perpetrating the killings cannot be untouchable and invincible.

All Nigerians want to see is that there is absolute peace in the state and people can go about their businesses and farms without fear. The news of incessant killings constantly emanating from the state is depressing.

Nobody should play politics with insecurity and the lives of the people.