Benue Under Siege by Terrorists, Not Just Herders-Farmers Clash — Gov Alia

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has raised the alarm over escalating insecurity in the state, stating that the ongoing wave of attacks is no longer a simple herders-farmers conflict but a calculated siege by terrorists.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, the governor described the series of deadly raids across several local government areas as part of a “directed, calibrated plan” carried out by well-coordinated armed groups.

“We are under siege. The way these attacks come and the intel we receive, it is a directed calibrated plan and then executed,” Alia said. “On a daily basis, we are receiving those intel, and 60 to 65 percent of it is quite accurate.”

He emphasized that the pattern of attacks points to a broader agenda beyond communal disputes. “It is beyond just conflict, beyond just an ethnic fight between herders and farmers. It is terrorism,” the governor added.

Alia, a Catholic priest-turned-politician, warned that these are no longer random acts of violence but guerrilla-style operations executed by specialized killers who strike under the cover of night and vanish without trace. “For some reason, none of the killers is ever caught. They come in the thick of the night, hit, run, and nobody sees a trace,” he said.

His remarks come amid a fresh wave of violence in the state. On Friday evening, suspected armed herdsmen reportedly launched a deadly attack on the Makurdi–Naka road, leaving many feared dead and several others injured, according to Daily Post.

The recent spate of killings has intensified pressure on federal authorities to address the deteriorating security situation in Benue, a state that has witnessed years of unrest linked to land and resource disputes.