Forum Condemns Gov Alia's 'No Genocide' Claim in Benue

The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State for claiming there is no religious genocide occurring in t...

The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State for claiming there is no religious genocide occurring in the state, stating that the governor's statement is disrespectful and a violation of the memory of the many innocent Benue residents who have lost their lives.

In a statement authored by its Publicity Secretary, Luka Binniyat, the Forum stated that the declaration was also an incitement to the millions of grieving individuals and a blatant misrepresentation of facts.

It criticized the governor's stance as a serious injustice to survivors who face each day living in the shadow of violence carried out by the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM), whose actions the governor's hesitant approach aims to protect.

The MBF stated that the 1948 UN Genocide Convention describes genocide as actions "intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group"—such as killing individuals from the group, causing significant physical or psychological harm, and intentionally creating conditions that lead to their physical destruction.

This serves as the global standard for evaluating crimes committed against entire populations. Is this not the recurring pattern of attacks in Benue and other regions within the Middle Belt that are primarily Christian farming communities?

The MBF stated that there is a systematic destruction of citizens and their villages, extensive burning and theft, sexual violence, and brutal acts against law-abiding ethnic groups from Benue State, who are primarily Christians. It also mentioned that the world cannot be taught by someone who chooses to use gentle words instead of clearly identifying and halting crimes as severe as the ongoing genocide.

To refer to these intentional and repeated mass killings as just "clashes" or typical "conflict" is to downplay the violence. The term "clashes" suggests equality—a mutual struggle. However, what occurs in Benue and throughout the Middle Belt involves communities being targeted in their homes and markets, entire villages destroyed, children and the elderly killed while asleep, and hundreds of thousands pushed into poor conditions.

Calling this destruction a 'clash' is a rhetorical shortcut that shields the guilty and condemns the innocent.

It is deeply regrettable that a clergyman who also serves as an elected political official of a state would oppose the facts when his people are dealing with a critical danger.

The MBF believes that Governor Aliya is intentionally being utilized to undermine the international pressure being placed on the Nigerian government to address the ongoing genocide within Nigeria. Particularly now that the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa held an open session on Thursday regarding President Donald Trump's decision to reclassify Nigeria as a 'Country of Particular Concern' due to the Christian genocide, which we have repeatedly highlighted.

The Forum, which was taken aback by Governor Alia's statement, mentioned that the Benue State authorities themselves reported 5,138 individuals killed in attacks from 2015 up to March 2023, a number confirmed by state emergency officials, who also noted that additional deaths have occurred afterward.

It highlighted that independent human rights groups and UN agencies documented numerous large-scale attacks between 2024 and 2025, with some nights witnessing the killing of dozens to hundreds in one incident.

The scale of human displacement is astonishing. Amnesty International and UN partners have recorded that by the end of 2024, approximately 500,000 individuals from Benue had been driven from their residences; humanitarian tracking and response reports from 2025 indicate that the number of displaced persons has reached into the hundreds of thousands and is increasing, with relief organizations noting more than half a million internally displaced people in Benue, and similar figures continuing to climb as fresh attacks occur.

These figures tell a story: entire communities have been displaced, sources of income have been lost, and schools and health centers have been left empty. To ignore the truth reflected in these numbers is to disregard the evident hardship faced by mothers, fathers, and children residing in camps.

Governor Alia used his religious position as though it grants moral authority to avoid political accountability. Belief should not be a shield for ignoring reality. If he remains true to his statements, he must also fulfill the responsibilities of his role: protect communities, pursue those responsible, permit independent international oversight, and cease using language that aids the perpetrators.

As a result, it urged Governor Alia to cease minimizing mass killing through euphemisms and to avoid language that deceives the country and global community, noting that history will not recall those who used religion to conceal their shortcomings.

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