By John Moses
A civic group in Nigeria’s Benue State has called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to declare a state of emergency over worsening security conditions in the region, citing escalating attacks blamed on armed herders, including alleged foreign mercenaries.
The Zone “A” Peoples’ Assembly (ZAPA), a socio-political organisation, issued the demand during a press briefing held in Makurdi on Sunday. Its president, Mr Fanen Mondo, accused both the state and federal governments of failing to act decisively in the face of repeated assaults on communities across the state.
“In recent months, we have seen a resurgence of brutal and coordinated violence in places like Chito, Tor Donga, Turan, Aôndoana, Yelwata, Apa, and Agatu,” Mondo said. “What unites these areas is not just the bloodshed and destruction, but the deafening silence from those in authority.”
Mondo urged Governor Alia to lead from the front, describing him as “a governor who must act not as a politician, but as a field commander.” He also criticised state politicians for what he described as a “complicit silence,” accusing them of politicising the crisis rather than addressing it.
“This silence is not neutrality—it is complicity. And the people of Benue are fully aware of it,” he added.
The group further appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene, calling for immediate military deployment and emergency humanitarian relief for affected communities.
“President Tinubu must remember that Benue stood by him during the last election. Now we need him to stand with us,” Mondo declared.
The call comes amid growing insecurity in Nigeria’s north-central region, where clashes between farming communities and armed herders have displaced thousands and left many dead.
