WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has claimed that the perpetrators of the recent wave of killings across the state are not Nigerians, stating that they speak unfamiliar languages and exhibit foreign characteristics. “Let’s have the narrative very correct. We know Nigerians—by our ethnicities, we can identify a Fulani man, a Yoruba man, a Hausa man—we know them. Even the regular traditional herders, we know them. They work with cows, herding with sticks,” Alia said. “But these folks [the attackers] are coming in fully armed with AK-47s and 49s. They do not bear the Nigerian look. They don’t speak like we do. Even the Hausa they speak is one sort of Hausa. ” According to the governor, intelligence from locals suggests the attackers may be foreign nationals. “It’s not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak. So it is with the Fulani they speak. There is a trend in the language they speak, and some of our people who understand what they speak give it names. They say they are Malians and different from our people. But they are not Nigerians—believe it,” he added.
BENUE: Attackers not Nigerians, speak different language – Alia
