Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has declared that the ongoing violence and mass killings in parts of the state are no longer isolated farmer-herder clashes but a deliberate campaign of terrorism targeting farming communities.
Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired Friday night, Alia said the scale, frequency, and coordination of the attacks suggest a more sinister agenda beyond agrarian disputes.
“What we are facing in Benue is not just herders and farmers clashing. This is terrorism. We are talking about bandits, specialized killers,”; Alia stated.
The governor described recent incidents as calculated assaults carried out in guerrilla style.
He disclosed that in one local government area, 73 people were slaughtered in a single night, while 33 others were killed in a separate attack.
He also cited a gruesome ambush in Mbalom, Gwer East, where more than 30 victims were buried in a mass grave following an attack shortly after church service on a Sunday.
“These are guerrilla-style operations. They wait for people to return from church, then strike. They are strategic and intentional. This is not random violence. It’s coordinated and persistent,”; the governor added.
