Benue Killings: Gov Alia Rejects Self-Defence, Hints At Community Policing

Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has rejected the option of self-defence by Benue citizens as a solution to the incessant killings going on in the state.

The governor advocated for community policing as a more viable means of securing the state than resorting to self-help measures.

This comes as the Benue State House of Assembly has also apologised to the state’s citizens for failing to protect them from attacks.

Survivors claim that over 200 people were killed in a pre-dawn attack on Yelwata in Guma local government area of Benue State by suspected Fulani militia at the weekend.

This latest attack has given rise to many people calling on Benue people to adopt self-help if the security agencies cannot protect them.

But Governor Alia has cautioned the citizens against resorting to self-defence in the face of increasing attacks, stressing that untrained individuals confronting armed assailants will only worsen the crisis.

He advocated community policing as a more strategic and sustainable solution to insecurity.
On Tuesday, on Focus Nigeria, an African Independent Television (AIT) programme, Alia said: “Let me begin with my concerns. You need to be trained to understand the dynamics of fighting guerrilla warfare. The Constitution permits all of us to defend ourselves, but to what extent?”

He urged residents not to take up arms hastily, warning: “I cautiously advise my citizenry that it is not advisable to simply pick up knives, machetes, and sticks to fight. There are ongoing conversations around community policing; I am one of the governors who projected it.”

The governor dismissed the notion that “desperate situations require desperate answers”, saying such reactions, driven by emotion and lack of preparation, could lead to greater harm.

“You’re unprepared with arms and do not understand the dynamics of confrontations,” he said.
Alia explained that community policing allows for the mobilisation of individuals familiar with the terrain, who can then effectively join local security efforts.

“With community policing, it becomes easier to identify those who understand the terrain and can be mobilised to join the ranks of the community police,” he said.

He also noted that the federal government’s support, particularly in intelligence gathering, had improved the state’s capacity to track down those responsible for the violence.

“With the federal government’s continued support through intelligence finding and searching, we will do even more. We will identify those people, apprehend them, and create a new narrative for our three local governments and, in fact, the state,” the governor stated.

Alia linked part of the security challenges to the internal crisis within the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), lamenting that disunity within the party contributes to instability.
“There is another layer to our challenges in the state here. The non-cooperation of some so-called major stakeholders, the disunity and disharmony within the ruling APC camp in the state, is quite unfortunate. Some people have been disgruntled and are yet to get back into the fold,” he said.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu has advised state APC leaders to reconcile their differences in the interest of peace and development.
Governor Alia reaffirmed his opposition to self-defence tactics, describing them as an emotional but ineffective approach to resolving insecurity.

We’ve Failed You, Benue Assembly Begs Citizens

In a related development, the Benue State House of Assembly has apologised on behalf of the federal, state, and local governments for failing to protect people’s lives and properties.

Speaker Hyacinth Dajoh, who presided over the plenary, commended the young men who protested the killings of innocent citizens at Yelwata community on Sunday.

He stated that if the government at all levels could allow citizens to be killed in that way, then there would be no 2027 election because the people would not rise from the grave to vote.

He faulted the security agencies who could not protect the lives and property of Benue citizens but were quick to arrest protesters, who he described as the heroes of democracy in Benue.

Speaker Dajoh directed the Katsina-Ala West representative, Peter Ipusu, to liaise with the Commissioner of Police to ensure the release of the arrested persons.

The apology, which is sequel to the motion of urgent need made by the APC member representing Guma I State Constituency during plenary on Tuesday in Makurdi, said: “We can no longer fold our arms to watch these known terrorists wipe out our people.”

He pointed out that Section 14 (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, provides that the security of lives and property should be the primary responsibility of the government.

The Speaker lamented that the people of Benue had been subjected to severe pain, displacement from their ancestral homes, wanton destruction of property and dastardly killings by Fulani terrorists for more than two decades.

The state lawmakers unanimously condemned what they described as the coordinated invasion, massacre, genocide and acts of terrorism against the people of Yelwata and all the affected local governments in Benue State by the marauding Fulani herdsmen militia.

They likened it to the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 and the Holocaust against the European Jews during World War II.

According to them, the people of the state have on several occasions drawn the attention of the federal government and the international community to the killings through various media, but the attacks have continued unabated.

The Speaker further stated that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches (Establishment) Law, 2017, as amended, was duly passed by the Benue State House of Assembly to regulate animal husbandry in the state and end the conflicting relationship between farmers and herders.

He, however, noted that the attackers and their sponsors would rather choose to breach the law and find excuses to perpetrate more killings in the state

.…Herdsmen Militia Used Explosives

Speaker Dajoh said he was disturbed that the invasion and attack on Yelwata had left over 200 people, including women and children, dead, emphasising that it was one attack too many.

“I am pained that apart from the use of sophisticated weapons, including explosives, the marauding herdsmen used fuel to set citizens in their houses ablaze while asleep, where some nuclear and extended families of between five to ten members have been completely wiped out.

“I am deeply pained that women, children, and pregnant women were murdered in their sleep for no fault of theirs. Their only crime was their identity as Benue crop farmers,” Uche said.
Seconding the motion, Alfred Berger (APC/Makurdi North) stated that the security agencies were not protecting the people, and called on both the state and federal governments to rise and defend the people of the state.

For his part, Abu Umoru (PDP/Apa) called on the Benue people, regardless of their political affiliations, to unite and tackle the challenges of insecurity once and for all.

Ipusu (APC/Katsina-Ala West) corroborated Berger, stating that security agencies were overwhelmed and thus incapable of protecting people, so people should rise and defend themselves, else the herdsmen would wipe out the entire population of the state.

Ipusu called on Gov Hyacinth Alia to enforce the law prohibiting open grazing.

In his ruling, Speaker Dajoh appealed to President Bola Tinubu to support the state in enforcing the law against open grazing using the military and police.

Benue Lawmakers Seek Friday As Public Holiday

Meanwhile, the Benue State House of Assembly has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to declare Friday, 20th June 2025, a public holiday to mourn the over 200 slain victims of Yelwata community in the state.
In an emergency plenary, the Assembly also lifted the suspension of six of the 13 members who were suspended on 19 February for organising a press conference outside the confines of the assembly, thereby breaching the standing rules.

This followed a motion by the Majority Leader, Saater Tiseer, urging the House to review the suspension of the suspended members.

Tiseer pointed out that the House, at its plenary on 19 February, suspended Douglas Akya (APC/Makurdi South) and 12 others from legislative duties for three months after they engaged in dishonourable conduct.

The Majority Leader further said the suspension period officially elapsed on 19 May.

He said the 13 members filed a legal suit against the House while on suspension, challenging their suspension from duty. He added that they also appeared before the Federal House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Petitions to testify against the State Assembly.

He said those later actions confused the House about whether they had shown remorse for their earlier actions.

The Minority Leader, Michael Audu (PDP/Adoka-Ugboju), seconded the motion, disclosing that since they had deemed it fit to apologise through a letter, their suspension should be lifted.

Security Beefed Up On Nasarawa Border

There has been a massive deployment of security operatives at Nasarawa border communities with Benue State following Saturday’s attack in Yelwata, LEADERSHIP can report.

The attacks in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State reportedly claimed over 200 lives.

The situation heightened tension in border communities in Nasarawa, compounded by a surge of displaced persons from Yelwata and other villages in Benue seeking refuge in the state.

Our correspondent reports that the attack has necessitated the deployment of security operatives to strategic locations across the Nasarawa sides of the borders, which stretch through Keana and Doma local government areas.

According to reports, a day before the Yelwata attack, gunmen had launched an onslaught on Doka and Antsa communities of Doma and Keana LGAs, respectively, displacing over 1,000 natives.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP exclusively, the state police command’s public relations officer, Superintendent of Police Ramhan Nansel, said the deployment was meant to forestall a spillover of violence and any breach of peace in the border communities.

Benue Killings, Threat To Food Security – CAN

In its reaction to the latest Benue killings, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has condemned the recent killings of over 200 people in Yelwata, Benue State, warning that the systematic killing and displacement of residents in the region posed a direct threat to Nigeria’s food security.

The Christian body cautioned against oversimplifying the conflict as mere farmer-herder clashes, emphasising that many of the recent victims were unarmed civilians, including women, children, and members of the clergy, some of whom were killed in their homes or while returning from local markets.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Rev John Joseph Hayab, and the secretary-general, Bishop Mohammed Naga, CAN described the killings as a horrific escalation in the ongoing wave of violence that has gripped the state.

“This senseless massacre, among the deadliest in recent memory, is a painful addition to the relentless cycle of bloodshed in the region. Benue is not just a state; it is a food basket. If we continue to lose farmers and destroy agricultural communities, the nation will suffer the consequences,” they said.

According to them, the pattern and ferocity of these attacks suggest a larger and more sinister agenda that must not be ignored.

“Every Nigerian life matters, and we must not allow the normalisation of bloodshed.”

 

…Calls for relief materials, compensation

The Christian body called on humanitarian and development partners to provide immediate relief materials, food, shelter, medical care, and trauma support for displaced persons, especially vulnerable groups like women, children, and the elderly.

It also urged federal and state governments to initiate a compensation framework for victims, including rebuilding destroyed homes, restoring farmlands, and replacing lost food stocks.

CSWN Expresses Concern Over Incessant Attacks

Meanwhile, Christian Solidarity Worldwide – Nigeria has expressed deep concern regarding the attacks on the Yelwata community in Guma Local Area of Benue State, which occurred on 14 June 2025, leading to the death of several people.

A statement issued by the press and research officer, CSWN, Reuben Buhari, said the situation is particularly tragic as the victims were primarily internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had previously fled from communities such as Antsa, Doka, and Kadarko, and were seeking refuge in various stalls around the Yelwata market.

“These individuals were killed and deliberately burned by the attackers. Others in their homes were also targeted; they were killed while their houses were set ablaze with them inside.

“Locals have reported that this latest attack on Yelwata is the third on the community within a week, and it lasted for over two hours.”

CSWN noted that the recurring attacks are unnecessary and preventable if the government had taken decisive action against these killers.

The group observed that the failure to rein them in had emboldened the perpetrators to extend their bloodletting from Nigeria’s Middle Belt states to other regions of the country.