Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has dismissed claims that religious genocide is taking place in the state, insisting that recent insecurity has been wrongly framed by some foreign officials.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during a forum organised by the National Human Rights Commission on the rights of Internally Displaced Persons, the governor said the situation in Benue, though troubling, does not meet any recognised definition of genocide.
“In my state of Benue, we don’t have any religious, ethnic, racial, national or state genocide,” he said. “Yes, we have insecurity, but it is not genocide. Anyone making such claims should review the United Nations definitions.”
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Alia, a Catholic priest before joining politics, also rejected suggestions that jihadist activities were underway anywhere in Nigeria. While Boko Haram and ISWAP operate mainly in the North-East and claim religious motivations, he described their ideology as a distorted interpretation of Islam.
“We do not have any jihad in Nigeria,” he said. “If there were, especially in my state, I would be the first person to raise alarm.”
The governor’s comments come amid heightened global scrutiny of Nigeria, following repeated claims abroad (particularly in the United States) that Christians are being systematically targeted. Those allegations informed earlier attempts to designate Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” a status that was first introduced under President Donald Trump and later removed during Joe Biden’s administration.
Alia said he had personally met with officials at the U.S. embassy to explain the security realities in Benue. He stressed that while attacks and mass killings have occurred in the state, they stem from broader insecurity rather than religious persecution.
Benue has faced deadly violence for years. According to ACLED data, more than 800 people have been killed and nearly 400 kidnapped in the state in the last two years. In June, coordinated attacks in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area, claimed over 100 lives.
