Alia accuses politicians of sponsoring attacks on Benue communities

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has alleged that some serving politicians in the National Assembly are behind the persistent attacks on communities across the state.

Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television on Friday, Governor Alia described the situation as “extremely unacceptable,” accusing unnamed federal lawmakers of supporting and sustaining armed groups operating in the state.

According to the governor, an interim report submitted by a judicial panel of inquiry he established has implicated several high-profile individuals. He promised to act decisively once the final report is submitted in the coming days.

“It is very, very unsettling because top 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 and feeding them in the bushes, and taking care of all their needs and buying all the other gadgets for them,” Alia said.

“This is extremely unacceptable. If they do not love the lives of the people and they’re only fighting for their own position, I think I am serving the interest of the common masses and it is a concern to me, and it is my right to protect it.”

Governor Alia noted that the judicial panel was set up to investigate the root causes of the sustained violence, both from internal and external sources.

“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,” he added.

The remarks follow reports of a fresh attack on Friday along the Makurdi–Naka road, where several persons were feared dead and many others injured. The road, which has remained under the control of suspected armed Fulani militia groups for weeks, continues to pose a serious security challenge, despite assurances of military intervention.