Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has raised serious concerns about recent violent attacks in his state. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, the governor said the attackers are not the regular herders people are used to seeing. According to him, these new groups are heavily armed and speak strange versions of Hausa and Fulani languages.
Governor Alia explained that Nigerians can usually recognize different ethnic groups, like Hausa and Fulani, by their language and appearance. Traditional herders usually carry sticks or machetes and don’t cause much trouble. But now, things have changed.
“These attackers come with AK47 and AK49 rifles,” he said. “They don’t bear Nigeria looks and they don’t speak what we speak. Their Hausa is not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak. So it is with the Fulani they speak. There is a trend of language they speak, and there are some of our people who understand what they speak, and they say that they are Malians and others.”
He said this new wave of violence is very different and more dangerous. In fact, some of the traditional herders have even warned local communities about the presence of these strange armed men.
The governor pointed out that places like Kastina-Ala Local Government Area are now overrun by these armed groups. “They have spread everywhere. We are under siege,” he added.
He is calling for urgent action to stop these attacks and protect the people of Benue.
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