From Attah Ede, Makurdi
Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has insisted that there is no religious genocide in the state.
He maintained that the narrative proclaimed by United States government officials to declare Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern was incorrect.
The governor stated this during a consultative forum on the protection of the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs) organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja, Wednesday.
“In my state of Benue, we don’t have any religious, any ethnic, any racial, any national or state genocide. We don’t have that.
“Do we have a number of insecurities in the state? Yes, we do. But it is not a genocide. Someone would need to… check the United Nations definitions for this,” the governor said.
The governor’s utterance is coming at a time Nigeria is facing scrutiny on the global stage over allegations of persecution and targeted killings of Christians.
According to him, there is no jihad going on in any part of the country, even though the two major rival terror groups operating mainly in Nigeria’s North-east – Boko Haram and ISWAP – have declared their aims to establish Islamic rule in their respective domains based on their distorted interpretation of Quaran widely regarded to be lacking scholarly credibility.
“We do not have any jihad in Nigeria,” Governor Alia maintained on Wednesday. “I’m speaking to you as a reverend father in the church.
“I’m speaking to you as a governor of a state. If there were any, particularly in my state or any part of Nigeria, I would have been the very number one person to make a noise.”
The spotlight turned on Nigeria in the build-up to and subsequent designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by the United States, with threat from President Donald Trump to send troops to Nigeria to save Christians.
Federal government, top officials and many respected voices, including religious leaders, have denied the claim of genocide in Nigeria.
Although there is widespread insecurity in the country, the government said, it does not target religious groups. “
Nigeria was first designated a Country of Particular Concern during the first term of President Donald Trump. But the designation was lifted during the Joe Biden presidency.
Speaking during the event on Wednesday, the Benue State governor noted that he visited the American embassy in Nigeria, explaining the issues regarding insecurity in his state.
“So, it’s on the record that I had an interface with the American ambassador to let him know that both in Nigeria, particularly in Benue State, there is no genocide, unless my description, and the United Nations description of a genocide does not fit within the parameters.”
Since 2009, Benue State has faced security challenges resulting in mass killings in several communities in the state. According to Armed Conflict Event and Location Data (ACLED), more than 800 people were killed and nearly 400 others were kidnapped in the state in the last two years.
On 14 June, a series of well-organised, precise and synchronised attacks were inflicted on the people of Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area (LGA), killing over 200 persons.
