Amid the rising violence in Benue State, Governor Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia has appealed to the Federal Government for urgent assistance, stressing that what the state requires is real support, not a declaration of a state of emergency.
Governor Alia made this call during an interview on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Wednesday. He addressed the ongoing attacks by armed herders, which have led to the loss of lives and displacement of many families in rural communities across the state.
He stated clearly that the crisis in Benue, though serious, is not beyond control. According to him, his government is actively working to push back the attackers but requires more backing from the Federal Government to succeed fully.
“What we need is emergency help for now. We need absolute support. The federal government is supported. They sent two armoured tanks that came in. Our situation had changed. We had a better narrative, but what we need to do is to get our people back home, to drive out the invaders, the armed invaders who have brought in people who do not even speak the Nigerian languages we speak. Let them move back to wherever they came from and allow us farmers to go back to our ancestral land. Calling for any emergency does not occur here,” he said.
The governor also noted that recent progress made by his administration proves that the security situation is manageable. He explained that since taking office, the number of local government areas affected by violent attacks has been significantly reduced—from 17 initially, down to just six.
“We couldn’t have trimmed it from 17 local governments in the front lines of the attacks to nine and then now to six, which means we have the capability to do this, but we need help. And that is a fact,” Alia added.
