Benue State is presently under siege, according to Governor Hyacinth Alia, who has repeatedly urged citizens to be on high alert and report any suspicious behavior to the proper authorities.
After Mass in the Chapel of Grace, Government House, Makurdi on Sunday, 20 April 2025, Governor Alia stressed that everyone must do their part to keep the community safe and called on the people to rally behind initiatives to combat the ongoing dangers.
“Speak up if you hear anything,” he said. “It will allow the guards to jump into action and fend off the intruders.”
The governor spoke out against the growing number of attacks in the state, calling them “extremely unacceptable” and stating that they were part of a larger effort by armed groups to evict entire communities and take over their ancestral territories.
Our nation is in the midst of a siege. The assault is underway. Furthermore, our assailants need to be identifiable, purposeful, and motivated. In order to occupy, they invade, force people to flee, and murder them. He firmly stated that this was very unacceptable.
Politicians are allegedly taking advantage of the escalating security problem for their own political benefit, and Alia has warned them firmly to stop.
“Please, politicians, stay away from this. Stay away from the people who are bullying us. We have the tools to investigate further and identify those responsible for our state’s demise, he declared.
He made it clear that Benue State will not stand for fear or lawlessness of any kind, regardless of who was behind it. He also strongly condemned all types of criminality. A terrorist is a terrorist, regardless of race or creed, in his view. Criminal behavior is criminal behavior.
Governor Alia urged the people of Benue to hold on to optimism despite the difficulties they face, and he reaffirmed his determination to bring peace to the entire state.
In a moving analogy, he compared the sufferings of Christ to those of the state and asked the people to pray for the victims of the recent attacks, especially those who died during Holy Week in the Ukum and Logo communities.