BREAKING: APC crisis: Hired armed men have invaded Benue – Alia raises alarm

Benue State Government has raised the alarm over the alleged invasion of the state by armed men reportedly led by the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Comrade Austin Agada and the Executive Director, Finance and Accounts at the Federal Housing Authority, Mr. Mathias Byuan.

Tersoo Kula, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said in a statement on Friday that armed men who accompanied Agada and Byuan reportedly made their way into the heart of the town in a convoy and started shooting sporadically when they got to Tito Gate, Kashim Ibrahim road, Makurdi.

The statement reads:

We have received intelligence reports that the suspended state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, Comrade Austin Agada and the Executive Director, Finance and Accounts at the Federal Housing Authority, Mr. Mathias Byuan have hired armed men into Benue State to shatter the relative peace in Benue State.

This is against the directive of the governor that all political gatherings in the state be suspended due to the volatile security situation in the state.

But shockingly, the armed men who accompanied Agada and Byuan reportedly made their way into the heart of the town in a convoy and started shooting sporadically when they got to Tito Gate, Kashim Ibrahim road, Makurdi.

The duo led the armed men round parts of the old GRA and were headed to property number 75, J S Tarka way said to be owned by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Dr George Akume when the Nigerian police arrived and began to engage them before they disappeared.

Recall that Governor Hyacinth Alia had banned all political and social gatherings in the state till further notice. These directives were later publicly communicated to the public through the Commissioner of Police, Benue State command who approved enforcement and equally asked the organizers to call off their meetings.

The government is worried that some people are still in the habit of insisting to derail the relative peace in the state and hinder development that Gov. Alia is bringing home.

The security atmosphere in Benue State is only gradually returning to calm after it was charged recently following the unprecedented influx of armed herders who were brought in by enemies of the state to destabilize the government.

We urge Benue people to be security conscious and immediately report the activities of these fifth columnists as we call on security agencies to arrest these merchants of crisis and bring them to book to serve as a deterrent to others.