Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, on Monday, accused some members of communities that experienced alleged herdsmen attacks of aiding the attackers.
In a recent interview, the governor condemned the massacre which claimed the lives of about 250 residents across two Local Government Areas of the state.
He, however, noted that there is an internal collaboration, saying, “What we are observing is a pattern, a simple but disturbing equation. A thief does not break into a community unless someone from within shows him the way.
“When we came into governance in 2023, 17 local governments were in the frontlines. We fought hard and brought it down to nine, then six. But the attacks have resurged.”
According to him, the local governments currently worst affected include Gwer West, Logo, Ukum, Katsina-Ala, Apa, Agatu and Guma, many of which had previously seen relative peace.
“Guma had peace for over a year. People returned home, farmed and had a good harvest. But this farming season, the attacks have resumed, with a new face,” Alia said.
He explained that while the violence was previously framed as a farmer-herder crisis, the nature of the attacks has since evolved.
“They no longer bring cattle. These are not regular herders. What we now see are armed men carrying AK-47s and AK-49s. They come to attack, to kill and soon after, others move in to occupy the land.
“Benue shares borders with Cameroon, Taraba and Nasarawa. Some of these attacks are said to originate from the Cameroon axis. The attackers do not speak the Hausa or Fulani we know. Their language is unfamiliar.”
