Alia: I won’t advocate self-defence in Benue — community policing is better

Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, says self-defence is not the solution to the security crisis in the state.

Alia spoke on Tuesday when he appeared on Kakaaki, a programme on AIT, while addressing the frequent killings in Benue communities.

The governor said while self-defence may sound reasonable, it would only make residents more vulnerable in the long run.

“I think that would make some very good common sense,” he said.

“But where you have people who just decide to wake up because of sentiments and emotions that are attached to what is happening with us and within us, I think the rendering ourselves a bit more vulnerable — so I wouldn’t advocate for a self-defence.”

He said the best path forward is community policing driven by people who understand the terrain and dynamics of the state.

“I would encourage us all to keep calling for community policing because it’s the only way,” Alia said.

“It’s only people from within the state and local government who would understand what is going on with them.”

The Benue governor’s comment comes amid growing calls for residents in the affected communities to take their safety into their own hands.

Alia had earlier stated that bandits and terrorists wreaking havoc in the state have adopted guerrilla-style tactics that make them increasingly difficult to track and apprehend.

“We’re talking about the bandits and the terrorists who have come to a very mystifying frame of guerrilla warfare. They come, hit, and go back. So, we cannot identify them,” he said.