Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has attributed the unrelenting violence in parts of the state to its geographic vulnerability, pointing fingers at infiltrators from neighbouring regions and across international borders.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, the governor said the state’s proximity to Cameroon, Nasarawa, and Taraba has made it a soft target for marauding attackers.
“We share borders with Cameroon, with Taraba and with Nasarawa,” he said, adding that those who frequently attacked the state come in from the borders.
The Benue State Governor further stated, “They were not necessarily Nigerians speaking the Hausa we know or the Fulanis.
“When to come to the axis of Nasarawa. This is where we have a lot of challenges. There are a number of happenings within Nasarawa State and there were routes where these people come in through any time they are shifted out of Benue. What we see now if anyone describes it as a reprisal, we wouldn’t say no to that.”
Alia said he spoke with his Nasarawa counterpart, Abdullahi Sule, and he said he got some intelligence that “the terrorists were coming into his state through Benue.
“When I told him that the havoc had already been caused at Yelewata in Benue, then he said probably, they came and made a touchdown in Yelewata in Benue and were going back because he said one person was macheted in Nasarawa State.”