Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has attributed the recent wave of deadly attacks in the state to armed herders who enter communities without cattle, describing them as part of a growing security crisis involving bandits and terrorists.
In an interview with Channels Television on Monday, June 16, Alia said the attackers have escalated from typical herder-farmer clashes to full-scale assaults by heavily armed individuals carrying AK-47 and AK-49 rifles. His comments follow the coordinated attacks on June 14 in Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma Local Government Area, where more than 100 people were killed. Reports indicate the death toll may have climbed to 200.
The killings have triggered nationwide outrage, prompting renewed scrutiny over the security situation in Benue and neighbouring regions.
Alia said the assailants often cross into Benue from Nasarawa State and even from as far as Cameroon. According to him, many of the attackers are not Nigerians, and their tactics suggest a broader agenda than disputes over grazing.
“Last year, people had gone back home and engaged in farming activities with bountiful produce,” Alia said. “But this farming season again, we started experiencing the phase of the new attacks.”
He explained that the violence has evolved. “Before now, we were talking about the farmers/herders crisis. Now it has graduated. It has become the question of herders coming in, and the armed men are among them. We tagged them the armed herdsmen.”
Alia noted that the attackers no longer arrive with livestock, but with weapons and a mission to destroy. “They don’t even come with cows. They attack, kill, and after one week, a number of people now come back to occupy.”
He also raised concerns about local complicity, stating, “A thief will not just come to a community unless there is someone within the community who leads the thief to your house or the community.”
Describing the situation as a dangerous progression, he warned that what began as clashes over grazing has now been hijacked by armed herders, bandits, and terrorists. “That is the situation on the ground,” he concluded.
