Benue massacre: Gov Alia rejects calls for self-defence

The governor of Benue State Hyacinth Alia has warned residents of the State against resorting to self-defence in the face of increasing attacks, stressing that untrained individuals confronting armed criminals will only aggravate the situation.

Rather, he called for community policing as a more strategic and sustainable solution to insecurity.

While speaking during an appearance on AIT on Tuesday, Alia said: “Let me begin with my concerns. You need to be trained to understand the dynamics of fighting guerrilla warfare. The Constitution permits all of us to defend ourselves, but to what extent?”

He urged residents not to take up arms hastily, warning: “I cautiously advise my citizenry that it is not advisable to simply pick up knives, machetes, and sticks to fight. There are ongoing conversations around community policing; I am one of the governors who projected it.”

Alia dismissed the notion that “desperate situations require desperate answers,” saying such reactions, when driven by emotion and lack of preparation, could lead to greater harm. “You’re unprepared with arms and do not understand the dynamics of confrontations,” he said.

He argued that community policing allows for the mobilisation of individuals familiar with the terrain, who can then join local security efforts effectively. “With community policing, it becomes easier to identify those who understand the terrain and can be mobilised to join the ranks of the community police,” he said.

He also noted that the support from the federal government, particularly in intelligence gathering, has improved the state’s capacity to track down those responsible for the violence.

“With the federal government’s continued support now through intelligence finding and searching, I think we are going to do even more. We will identify those people, apprehend them, and create a new narrative for our three local governments and, in fact, the state,” the governor stated.

Alia linked part of the security challenges to the internal crisis within the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), lamenting that disunity within the party is contributing to instability.

“There is another layer to the challenges we have in the state here. The non-cooperation of some so-called major stakeholders, the disunity and disharmony within the ruling APC camp in the state, is quite unfortunate,” he said.

“There are some people who have been disgruntled and are yet to get back into the fold”.

Governor Alia concluded by reiterating his opposition to self-defence tactics, describing them as an emotional but ineffective approach to resolving insecurity.

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