Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has firmly dismissed claims that religious genocide is taking place in the state, an allegation reportedly cited by some U.S. officials pushing for Nigeria to be labelled a “Country of Particular Concern.”
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at a consultative forum on the protection of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs), organised by the National Human Rights Commission, Alia said the narrative circulating internationally does not reflect the reality on ground.
Alia, a Catholic priest before joining politics, acknowledged that Benue is grappling with security challenges but stressed that they should not be exaggerated or misclassified.
“In my state of Benue, we don’t have any religious, ethnic, racial, national, or state genocide. We don’t have that,” he said.
“Do we have insecurities in the state? Yes, we do. But it is not a genocide. Someone would need to check the United Nations’ definitions for this.”
He also rejected claims that any form of “jihad” is underway in Nigeria.
His comments come amid global conversations concerning extremist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, which have long pursued violent ideologies that mainstream Islamic scholars have repeatedly condemned.
Despite the known ambitions of these militant groups, Alia maintained that the situation in Nigeria, and especially in Benue, should not be interpreted through the lens of religious warfare.
“We do not have any jihad in Nigeria,” he said. “I’m speaking to you as a reverend father and as a governor. If there were any, particularly in my state or any part of Nigeria, I would have been the first to raise the alarm.”
