Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has urged citizens not to rely on self-defence as a way to deal with the rising insecurity in the state. He warned that allowing untrained people to confront armed attackers could only make the situation worse.
Instead of that approach, Governor Alia is promoting community policing as a smarter and more lasting solution to the crisis.
While addressing the issue, he said people should not rush into using weapons, 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.”
He made these remarks during an interview on Focus Nigeria, a programme aired on African Independent Television (AIT) on Tuesday.
The governor added:
“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?”
Alia explained that community policing gives room for locals—who are already familiar with the area—to support security efforts in a more effective way.
“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 help from the federal government, especially in terms of intelligence gathering, has boosted the state’s ability to go after 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,” he said.
However, the governor’s comments have sparked strong reactions online. The interview video is currently trending and has gone viral, with many social media users expressing anger and disappointment. Critics argue that Governor Alia’s stance is out of touch—especially after notable figures like Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, recently advocated for community self-protection as a necessary step to end the continuous
In addition to the insecurity, Alia pointed to internal divisions within the Benue State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as another major challenge.
“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.”
He mentioned that President Bola Tinubu has advised APC members in the state to resolve their disagreements for the sake of peace and development.
In conclusion, Governor Alia firmly repeated his opposition to self-defence efforts, saying they may be driven by emotion, but won’t solve the problem.
