Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have traded blame following the killing of 15 people in Efeyi Ugboju, Otukpo Local Government Area.
The attack occurred on Tuesday, sparking fresh debate over how the state government is handling insecurity.
In separate statements issued on Wednesday, the PDP and its 2027 governorship candidate, Michael Aondoakaa, accused Governor Alia of failing to protect lives and provide effective leadership. The governor, however, accused the opposition of exploiting the security crisis for political purposes.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Bright Antyo, criticised the governor’s response to the repeated attacks.
“Leadership is not by words but by decisive action, empathy and the ability to inspire confidence in times of crisis,” the party said, adding that Benue residents were not seeing those qualities.
Aondoakaa also accused the state government of attempting to silence critics rather than address insecurity. He said it was unfortunate that a government “under whose watch communities are repeatedly invaded, farmers displaced and innocent people killed” now viewed criticism as a bigger problem than those carrying out the attacks.
He added that despite the government’s claims, killings in Benue communities had continued.
Responding, Governor Alia said the opposition was exploiting the killings for political gain.
Through his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, the governor said the tragedy required unity and compassion rather than political attacks.
“At a moment like this, what our people expect and deserve is responsible leadership and constructive oversight,” the statement said.
Alia also maintained that his administration had continued to support security agencies through logistics, intelligence sharing, personnel motivation and cooperation with local vigilantes to improve security and restore peace.
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