Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has cautioned against calls for residents to adopt self-defence in the face of escalating violence across communities, warning that such a move could further endanger lives.

Speaking on AIT’s Kakaaki programme on Tuesday, the governor said while self-defence may seem like a practical option, it poses serious risks in a highly volatile environment.

“I think that would make some very good common sense,” Alia said.
“But where you have people who just decide to wake up because of sentiments and emotions that are attached to what is happening with us and within us, I think we’d be rendering ourselves more vulnerable so I wouldn’t advocate for a self-defence.”

Instead, Alia recommended community policing as the most effective approach to tackling insecurity, stressing the need for locally driven security solutions.

“I would encourage us all to keep calling for community policing because it’s the only way,” he said.
“It’s only people from within the state and local government who would understand what is going on with them.”

His comments come amid heightened tensions in Benue State, where hundreds of residents have been killed in recent attacks by bandits and terrorists. In response to the recurring violence, some citizens and community leaders have called on locals to defend themselves.

Governor Alia, however, noted that the attackers have adopted guerrilla warfare tactics, making them harder to identify and track.

“We’re talking about the bandits and the terrorists who have come to a very mystifying frame of guerrilla warfare. They come, hit, and go back. So, we cannot identify them,” he explained.

Alia’s remarks reflect a growing concern among leaders about how best to address the persistent insecurity in Benue without further escalating the crisis or exposing civilians to greater harm.