Insecurity exists in Nigeria, but not genocide – Gov Alia

Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has dismissed claims that there is religious genocide in the state, countering a narrative reportedly used by some United States officials pushing for Nigeria to be designated a Country of Particular Concern.

“In my state of Benue, we don’t have any religious, any ethnic, any racial, any national or state genocide. We don’t have that. Do we have a number of insecurities in the state? Yes, we do. But it is not a genocide. Someone would need to… check the United Nations definitions for this,” Governor Alia said.

The governor, a Catholic priest turned politician, made this clarification at a consultative forum on protecting the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs), organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja.

Governor Alia also insisted that there is no jihad taking place in any part of the country, despite the known ambitions of Boko Haram and ISWAP, two rival terror groups operating mainly in the North-East. While Boko Haram seeks to establish a local Islamic state, ISWAP aims for a wider caliphate across West Africa aligned with ISIS, though their interpretations of the Quran are widely criticised for lacking scholarly credibility.

“We do not have any jihad in Nigeria,” he stressed. “I’m speaking to you as a reverend father in the church. I’m speaking to you as a governor of a state. If there were any, particularly in my state or any part of Nigeria, I would have been the very number one person to make a noise.”

His comments come amid renewed global scrutiny over allegations of targeted attacks on Christians in Nigeria.

These concerns intensified after the United States listed Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, with President Donald Trump threatening to send troops to protect Christians.

The Nigerian government and several respected religious figures have repeatedly denied any genocide, maintaining that while insecurity persists, it is not targeted at any religious group.

A BBC investigation reported that data used by U.S. officials to support the claim of a Christian genocide could not be independently verified.

Both Christian and Muslim communities continue to face deadly attacks driven by banditry, competition over resources, and weak governance.

Nigeria was first designated a Country of Particular Concern under Donald Trump, but the label was removed during Joe Biden’s presidency.

On Wednesday, Governor Alia revealed that he had visited the U.S. embassy in Nigeria to provide clarity on the situation in his state.

“It’s on the record that I had an interface with the American ambassador to let him know that both in Nigeria, particularly in Benue State, there is no genocide, unless it’s my description, and the United Nations description of a genocide does not fit within the parameters,” he said.