Benue killings: Perpetrators are foreigners not Nigerians – Governor Alia

The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia has said that the armed men that attacked the community are foreigners, and not Nigerians

Alia disclosed this on Tuesday night while discussing the issue on a television programme.

According to him, “These folks came in, fully armed with AK-47, AK-49. They don’t bear the Nigerian look, and they don’t speak what we speak.

“Their Hausa is one sort of Hausa, not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak.

“Our people who have witnessed the attacks say they are Malians and different forms of people, but they are not Nigerians.”

He said the “terrorists” operated from cells in Nasarawa and the Nigeria-Cameroon border near Kwande LGA, exploiting porous borders.

“They come in as they kill, as they maim, as they push people away. They just keep killing, and then they run back,” Alia said, emphasising their coordinated strategy.

The governor said the latest attacks, which turned Good Friday into a “Black Friday,” saw villages in the Sankera axis surrounded at night.

“They surrounded a number of villages. They were ready, just willing to take anything walking or breathing out. Anything on their way is cleared.

“By morning, 72 deaths were confirmed—29 in Ukum, 27 in Logo, three in Katsina-Ala, and others in hospitals—along with countless injuries and displaced residents,” Alia recounted.

He said another body was recovered, which brought the toll to 73.

The governor gave the motive of the marauders as land-grabbing.

“They have occupied some LGAs in the last 15 years,” he said.

Also yesterday, the governor hosted National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who delivered President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s message.

Ribadu reassured the governor of the Tinubu Administration’s commitment to securing their lives and properties.