Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has said the recent attacks in the State that claimed several lives are beyond just herders-farmers clash.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Governor Alia to have said the attacks now involve specialized killer terrorists who engage in a form of guerrilla warfare.
The Governor said this when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, revealing that the attacks that have claimed numerous lives were well planned and executed.
“We are under siege. The way these attacks come and the intel we receive, it is a directed calibrated plan and then executed.
“On a daily basis we are receiving those intel. Of late, each of those intel we receive, 60 to 65 per cent of it is quite accurate.
“And then when you realise what is going on, it is beyond just conflict, it is beyond just an ethnic fight between herders and farmers in our state, it is directed, it is planned and then it is executed, it is some terrorism,” Alia said.
TNG reports there has been increased cases of killing in Benue by suspected herdsmen which has become a source of concern to many.
Some of the recent cases in the State include the attack on Rev. Fr. Solomon Atongo on May 24 while on his way from Makurdi to Naka, the headquarters of Gwer-East Local Government Area. The attackers left him for dead, but he survived.
On May 29, Agan Community in Makurdi was attacked in broad daylight, resulting in multiple fatalities.
On Sunday June 1, Naka, the Gwer West Local Government headquarters, and Edikwu-Ankpali community in Apa Local Area were attacked, resulting in several fatalities.
Also reported was the attack on other communities including Tse-Antswam in Naka town by suspected herdsmen, which left 17 people dead and many others missing or displaced.
Similarly, Edikwu and Ankpali communities in Apa Local Government Area were attacked, resulting in 16 confirmed deaths and many others missing.
“For some reason, none of them is ever caught, they come in in the thick of the night, hit, run and nobody sees a trace. So, it is some terrorism that is eating us up,” Alia said.