- Safiu Kehinde
Benue State Governor, Alia Hyacinth, has claimed that the gunmen responsible for spate of attacks and killings across the state are not from Nigeria.
Alia made the claim while speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.
NPO Reported that the state had come under fervent attacks by suspected herdsmen which have left over 70 people dead in the last one week.
Speaking on the identity of the insurgents, the Benue governor claimed that they do not speak any of their recognized Nigerian language and their Hausa and Fulani languages sound different from the one spoken in Nigeria.
According to the governor, some of the victims who understand their language claimed the insurgents are from Mali and other countries.
Alia also disclosed that as against the traditional herders often armed with sticks and machete, the attackers possessed AK 47 and AK 49.
“Let’s have our narratives correct. We know Nigerians by identity. We can identify Fulani, Yoruba, Hausa man, and others. We know them.
“With their regular traditional herders, we know them walking with cows with some sticks and at most machetes.
“That is not the case. These force are coming in fully armed with AK 47 and AK49. They don’t bear the Nigerian looks and they don’t speak what we speak.
“Their Hausa is one sort of Hausa. It’s not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak. So it is with the Fulani they speak.
“There is a trend of language they speak. And some of our people who understands what they speak and their given names said they are Malians and some sort of other people. They are not Nigerians. Believe it.” The governor said.
He further held that the state had less trouble with the traditional herders who he claimed often alert the state government whenever the foreign terrorists are spotted.
“This is the second phase we are seeing this. The initial one was with the traditional herders. The traditional herders we had less trouble with them.
“It will quite interest you to know that there are number of cases when the terrorists now come in, it is the traditional herders that will give some kind of heads up that certain people have come in and they don’t know them.
“And what these people do is any person on their way is cleared. This is never associated with the other traditional groups that used to pass through Benue and move further down to the South.” The governor said.
Alia reiterates that the state is under siege as the terrorists have dominated some local areas across Benue.
“What we see and experience has a new different strange face. It is quite alarming.
“If you go to Katsina local government now, the entire local government is extremely infested with these terrorists. They have spread themselves everywhere. They are everywhere. Believe me, this is a siege. We are under a siege.” He added.