Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has alleged that the armed Fulani herders responsible for violent attacks across the state are not Nigerians, but foreigners from Mali.
Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television, Governor Alia said the language and appearance of the attackers are unlike those of indigenous Nigerian Fulani.
He insisted that while Nigeria is home to Fulani and Hausa communities, the assailants speak unfamiliar dialects and exhibit characteristics that suggest they are from outside the country.
“We know Nigerians—by our ethnicities, we can identify a Fulani man, a Yoruba man, a Hausa man—we know them,” the governor said.
“Even the regular traditional herders, we know them. They work with cows, herding them with sticks.”
Governor Alia contrasted these traditional herders with the armed individuals who have been terrorising local communities.
“But these folks, the attackers, are coming in fully armed with AK-47s and 49s. They do not bear the Nigerian look. They don’t speak like we do. Even the Hausa they speak is one sort of Hausa.”
He further explained that the version of Fulani spoken by these individuals is also unfamiliar. “It’s not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak.
“So it is with the Fulani they speak. There is a trend in the language they speak, and some of our people who understand what they speak give it names.”
“They say they are Malians and different from our people. But they are not Nigerians—believe it,” Alia declared.
Benue State has been the scene of repeated violent incursions by armed herders in areas such as Otukpo, Ado, and Logo, leading to numerous deaths and widespread displacement of residents.