Benue Killings: Governor Alia Warns Against Self-Defence, Backs Community Policing Amid Rising Insecurity

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has cautioned residents against taking the law into their own hands in response to ongoing violent attacks, warning that untrained civilians confronting armed assailants could worsen the crisis.

Speaking on AIT’s Focus Nigeria on Tuesday, Alia said while the Constitution permits self-defence, it is not a viable long-term solution without proper training.

“You need to be trained to understand the dynamics of fighting guerrilla warfare,” he said. “The Constitution permits all of us to defend ourselves, but to what extent?”

He urged citizens to refrain from arming themselves with knives, machetes, or sticks, warning that such actions, driven by emotion, could end in tragedy. “I cautiously advise my citizenry that it is not advisable to simply pick up weapons 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,” arguing that emotional responses to complex security issues often lead to more harm than good.

Instead, he championed community policing as a more strategic and sustainable path to peace, explaining that the initiative involves mobilising locals who know the terrain and can work closely with security forces.

“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 explained.

The governor also noted that federal government support, particularly in intelligence gathering, has strengthened Benue’s ability to track down those behind the violence. “With the federal government’s continued support in intelligence gathering, I believe we can do more. We will identify these people, apprehend them, and change the narrative.”

Alia further linked part of the state’s security challenges to internal divisions within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), pointing to disunity among key stakeholders.

“There is another layer to the challenges here — the non-cooperation of some major stakeholders and the disunity within the APC in the state. Some disgruntled members have yet to return to the fold,” he said.

He revealed that President Bola Tinubu has encouraged APC leaders in the state to reconcile for the sake of peace and progress.

Governor Alia ended by reiterating his opposition to self-defence as a solution, describing it as emotionally driven but ultimately ineffective in addressing the security crisis.