Benue State Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia has said the violent attacks in the central Nigerian state are because of the battalion of herdsmen of the Fulani tribe trooping into the state from the Niger Republic.
Governor Alia said the herders came on the invitation of some Benue State locals. The aim of the “mischief makers,” he said, is to frustrate his government which only took command on May 29, 2023.
“Security report has revealed that some Benue indigenes have gone out of their way to invite herdsmen all the way from Niger Republic to troop into Benue State. All in the name of bringing down this administration, and this is unacceptable,” said the Governor on Sunday.
Violence between the nomadic Fulani herdsmen, who are mostly Muslims, and farmers, who are predominantly Christians, has rocked Benue since 2013 and is becoming more common.
But Alia assured that security agents are doing their work. “The influx of herders will not harm anyone, but they will return gradually to where they have come from,” he noted.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
