Tension has gripped Benue State following the reported disappearance of two prominent figures, including an aide to Governor Hyacinth Alia.
One of the missing persons, Atu Terver, the Principal Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth and Media Mobilisation, was said to have gone missing on Tuesday while travelling from Makurdi to Abuja.
Also unaccounted for is Asom Jerry, a social media activist whose disappearance has sparked widespread reactions online.
While some social media users alleged that Jerry was arrested by the police, others insisted his whereabouts remain unknown.
The wife of the governor’s aide, Mrs. Civir Terver, confirmed that her husband left Makurdi for Abuja but never arrived.
She said, “He left Makurdi on Tuesday and was coming to see us in Abuja but did not show up. The case was reported at the police station in Abuja, and they told us that they were investigating it. As of today, I am yet to get any useful information about his whereabouts.”
Asked if the state government had contacted her, Mrs. Terver said she had not received any word from her husband’s employer.
Spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet, distanced the command from the matter, saying Jerry’s alleged arrest was unknown to them, while noting that Terver’s case occurred outside the state.
“I don’t have any information on the alleged arrest of the social media activist as I am just hearing of it from you. Regarding Governor Alia’s appointee, it happened in Abuja, not in Benue State,” Edet said.
Efforts to reach the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kula Terso, were unsuccessful as calls to his phone went unanswered.
In a swift reaction, the Austin Agada-led All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state expressed concern over the disappearance of the two men.
In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Daniel Ihomun, the faction criticised Governor Alia for what it described as his silence on the matter.
“The sudden disappearance of notable Benue citizens, including activist and fierce government critic, Asom Jerry, and the Principal Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth and Media Mobilisation, Atu Terver, popularly known as Krazy T, has created deep fear and uncertainty among our people.
“These incidents strike at the heart of public trust in government and the security agencies mandated to protect citizens,” the statement read in part.
The faction accused the governor of failing to reassure the people, adding that his silence was deepening public anxiety.
While condemning what it called the “insensitivity and inaction” of the Alia administration, the APC faction urged security agencies to intensify efforts to trace the missing persons and bring those behind their disappearance to book.
It also called on the government to “speak up, act responsibly, and provide credible information to reassure the people that their lives and rights are valued and protected.”