We’re Under S!ege, Terrorism Eating Up our state, Governor Cries Out

We’re Under Siege, Terrorism Eating Up our state, Governor Cries Out
The governor insists that he no longer views the attacks as a clash between farmers and herders, stating that they now involve specialized killers—terrorists who engage in a form of guerrilla warfare.

Some of the burnt houses in the Benue attack on April 15, 2025

The governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has declared that the state is under siege from terrorists and bandits, saying that the recent attacks that have claimed several lives is beyond herders-farmers clash.

There has been a spike in attacks in the North-Central state in recent weeks, with several local governments witnessing onslaughts that have seen a lot of people die.

Governor Alia, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said that the attacks are well planned and executed by terrorists.

“We are under siege,” Governor Alia exclaimed on the programme when asked if he thinks the state is under terror attack. “The way these attacks come and the intel we receive, it is a directed calibrated plan and then executed.”

“On a daily basis we are receiving those intel. Of late, each of those intel we receive, 60 to 65 per cent of it is quite accurate.

“And then when you realise what is going on, it is beyond just conflict, it is beyond just an ethnic fight between herders and farmers in our state, it is directed, it is planned and then it is executed, it is some terrorism.”

The governor insists that he no longer views the attacks as a clash between farmers and herders, stating that they now involve specialized killers—terrorists who engage in a form of guerrilla warfare.

“For some reason, none of them is ever caught, they come in in the thick of the night, hit, run and nobody sees a trace. So, it is some terrorism that is eating us up,” he remarked