Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has described interventions by the Federal Government and the United States as “very helpful” in addressing the persistent insecurity in Benue and other parts of the North-Central region.
Alia spoke on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he also called for stronger collaboration among states in the region to develop a coordinated response to insecurity.
The governor said the region needed to move beyond responding to attacks after they occurred and focus more on identifying the sources of insecurity and preventing further violence.
“We need peace in our region. We need to get into the sources where we are very vulnerable, and their acts are continuing. We need to know those who are responsible for this,” he said.
Alia also expressed concern over what he described as fragmented responses from security agencies, stressing the need for states in the region to work together to safeguard their communities.
“We also need to know that we have a need instead of reacting, we should work, and we must work towards the prevention,” he said.
According to him, the coming together of North-Central states was intended to reinforce their collective responsibility to protect lives and create conditions for economic development.
He said states in the region could not remain indifferent to security challenges affecting their neighbours, arguing that insecurity in one state ultimately posed a threat to the wider region.
“So, if you belong to the region and you seemingly comfortable while the others are not, then we cannot talk as a common entity,” Alia said.
The governor said the region possessed significant economic potential but could not fully benefit from its resources without peace and security.
He acknowledged the role of the Federal Government in responding to attacks in Benue, noting that additional military formations and security units had been deployed to areas experiencing persistent attacks.
“The intervention by the United States was very, very helpful to us. We must say the fact as it is, and the interventions that the federal government has been doing is very supportive of us,” Alia said.
He disclosed that one of the military divisions established by President Bola Tinubu would cover Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa states, with the headquarters expected to be located in Makurdi.
“In fact, one of the divisions that Mr President created as a state here, we also have one that would cover Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa. It should be headquartered right here in Benue, Makurdi,” he said.
Alia added that troops would be stationed in communities that had experienced repeated attacks, while other security units would be deployed to strategic locations.
“Most of the places where we have been having these persistent attacks, a number of battalions would be stationed there, and certain units would also spring up in different other locations,” he said.
The governor also addressed the debate over whether the killings in parts of northern Nigeria should be described as a Christian genocide.
He said while there had been broad agreement that the scale of killings constituted a genocide, opinions differed over whether the violence specifically amounted to Christian genocide.
