Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has alleged that foreign armed herders have joined forces with local counterparts in a deliberate campaign of violence aimed at displacing communities and seizing land across the state.
In a televised interview on Arise News on Wednesday, Alia said the recent escalation of attacks in Benue and neighboring Plateau State signals a shift in tactics by the perpetrators, who no longer move with cattle but instead operate as armed militias intent on conquest.
“The second phase of the armed herder attacks is that those who have combined with the armed herders do not even speak what we understand, and they don’t look like us Nigerians,” the governor said. “They have combined forces with these people. Why are they coming? It’s just to kill, maim, drive people out of their land and then to occupy.”
Alia described the violence as highly organized and calculated, with attackers hiding in nearby forests, launching assaults on communities, and returning later to establish settlements in the cleared areas.
“These attacks are deliberate. They come to kill, maim, and then grab land,” he said, warning that the trend reflects a dangerous shift from traditional pastoralist disputes to strategic territorial expansion.
The governor called on the Federal Government to bolster security efforts in the state and cautioned against politicizing the crisis. He also rejected recent calls for a state of emergency in Benue, saying such a measure is unnecessary and inappropriate.
“There is no place for emergency rule in Benue,” Alia stated. “What we need is support — real support — to stop the killings and protect our people.”
Benue, located in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, has long been at the center of deadly clashes between farming communities and herders, with disputes over land use, grazing routes, and resource access fueling tensions. However, the governor’s latest claims highlight growing concerns over the alleged role of foreign fighters and shifting dynamics in the conflict.
