Attackers of Benue communities not Nigerians, says Gov Alia

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, says the criminal elements involved in the recent killings across the state are not Nigerians.

He said they were found speaking unfamiliar languages and exhibit foreign characteristics.

Alia disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking as a guest on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television.

He was responding to the assaults on the state that have left scores killed and hundreds of residents displaced.

When asked about the identity of the attackers terrorising communities in the state, the governor said it was important to first clarify the nature of the threat.

“Let’s have the narrative very correct. We know Nigerians—by our ethnicities, we can identify a Fulani man, a Yoruba man, a Hausa man—we know them. Even the regular traditional herders, we know them. They work with cows, herding with sticks,” Alia said.

“But these folks [the attackers] are coming in fully armed with AK-47s and 49s. They do not bear the Nigerian look. They don’t speak like we do. Even the Hausa they speak is one sort of Hausa.”

The governor said intelligence from locals suggested the attackers could be foreign nationals.

“It’s not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak. So it is with the Fulani they speak. There is a trend in the language they speak, and some of our people who understand what they speak give it names.

“They say they are Malians and different from our people. But they are not Nigerians—believe it,” he added.

Governor Alia said this marked a new and more dangerous phase of violence compared to previous confrontations with traditional herders.

“This is the second phase we are seeing. The initial ones were with the traditional herders. The traditional herders—we had fewer troubles with them.

“What we are experiencing has a new, different, strange face, and it’s now alarming,” the governor said.

“These terrorists are everywhere. We are under a siege. These people just come and hit and kill and run back. Where are they running to?”

He revealed that the attacks appeared highly coordinated and strategically executed.

“The way these killings are being planned and carried out is definitely coordinated,” he stated.

“Some local government areas in Benue share borders with Cameroon, and those borders are quite porous.”

The governor also said intelligence reports point to the existence of terrorist hideouts in parts of Taraba and Nasarawa states, as well as in areas within Cameroon.

“The terrorists have their havens in Taraba, Nasarawa, and in border regions of Cameroon,” Alia stated.

This came amid growing concern over a spate of attacks across Benue and Plateau states that have claimed dozens of lives, displaced entire communities, and deepened the security crisis in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

Two weeks ago, on the same show, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, also raised fresh concerns about the identity of those behind the persistent killings in the state, revealing that many of the attackers do not speak any known Nigerian language.

I’m not in supremacy battle with Ooni, says new Alaafin

Newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, has denied being in royal supremacy battle with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, or any other monarch.

He spoke through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, in a reaction to an online viral video

He also said at no time did the Alaafin order his men to beat up the father of a monarch of a village in the United States of America.

The statement read in part, “The attention of the Media Office of the Alaafin of Oyo has been drawn to a misleading and wicked fabrication of a video produced by an online medium, Awikonko TV, and shown on YouTube .

“In the malicious video, the anchor narrated how the Alaafin of Oyo , Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1, ordered his men to beat to a pulp ‘father of the monarch’ of a village in the United States of America and later handed him over to the police.

“The misguided anchor said the action was in attestation of Alaafin Owoade’s supremacy battle with the Ooni of Ife. The anchor of the video was not only a pathological liar, but should be confined to dungeon of eternity for being heartless in dishing out such lies.

“What really happened was that the ancestral lineage of descendants of Oyotunji village in the USA is Oyo town. It was more than two occasions, during the reign of the late Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III , that the people of Oyotunji village traced their ancestral home to Oyo town and were given red carpet reception.

“When a new Alaafin was appointed and after the coronation, the Oyotunji monarch thought it expedient to pay congratulations visit to his ancestral royal father, which he did.

“He was well received by the Alaafin before his departure.

“Where then did this online medium defecating the social media space get its own story, if not a cooked up one. The video shown neither correlates nor synchronises with the anchor.

“What is more? How possible is it for the Alaafin to order the beating of a monarch who paid him a visit from a foreign village and with Oyo town as its ancestral home?

“However, to those who are bereft of Yoruba history, as a purveyor of authentic Yoruba traditions and given the responsibility of the Alaafin who is expected to be diplomatic, energetic and protective of his people could not have condescended so low as to have ordered his men to beat to a pulp father of a monarch from a village that belongs to Oyo in the United States of America.”

He said further, “Alaafin Owoade 1 is a royal father who puts emphasis on his own integrity, works to develop a strong ethical foundation with an understanding of Godly behaviour.”

Bandits attack Kwara North, kill vigilante, six others

Suspected bandits killed seven people—including a vigilante—in separate attacks on Sunday, April 21, 2025, in Ilesha Baruba and Kemanji communities of Baruten and Kaiama Local Government Areas, Kwara North Senatorial District.

According to the state police spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire‑Adeyemi, “The state police command is investigating two grievous incidents that occurred on Sunday, April 21, 2025, in Baruten and Kaiama Local Government Areas of the state.”

At around 9:30 p.m., ten armed men stormed the Ilesha Baruba Motor Park and opened fire on civilians gathered at a nearby relaxation spot. Six people—identified as Alhaji Ja’awire, AbdulJabar, Mohammed Nasamu, and three others—were killed, and two more suffered serious gunshot wounds.

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“The deceased have been deposited at the Ilesha Baruba Morgue for autopsy, while the injured are receiving treatment,” Ejire‑Adeyemi said.

Earlier that day, at about 11:30 a.m., a Kemanji-based vigilante group on patrol in the Kainji National Park area came under fire from suspected bandits.

In the ensuing exchange, three bandits were fatally wounded, and vigilante member Yusuf Samba “M” was shot and later succumbed to his injuries.

Ejire‑Adeyemi added that police have arrested an informant linked to the bandit network. “This individual has proven to be a valuable asset in advancing the investigation.”

The Kwara State Police Command has activated full security measures—including tactical teams, intensified surveillance, and intelligence‑led operations—to restore peace.

Residents are urged to cooperate with law enforcement and warned that anyone aiding or abetting crime will “face the full weight of the law.”

Bandits attack Kwara North, kill vigilante, six others