No jihad, religious genocide in Benue – Alia insists

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Hyacinth Alia, the governor of Benue State, denied allegations of religious genocide in the state on Wednesday, refuting charges made by some US officials who were purportedly advocating for Nigeria to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern.

Speaking at a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) consultative conference on the protection of internally displaced people (IDPs) and forcibly displaced people (FDPs) in Abuja, Alia refuted claims that suggested religious or ethnic cleansing occurred in Benue.

According to ZINGTIE, the remarks coincide with heightened worldwide attention due to claims of targeted attacks on Christians and religious persecution in the nation.

Recall that in response to claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria, US President Donald Trump threatened to take military action against the nation.

“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,” the governor said.

Although he acknowledged the state’s security issues, he emphasized that they do not fit the UN’s definition of genocide.

Despite the known aspirations of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, to impose Islamic rule based on radical interpretations of the Quran, Alia, a Catholic priest before entering politics, denied that jihadist campaigns were taking place in any part of Nigeria.

“We do not have any jihad in Nigeria,” he said, adding: “If there were any, particularly in my state or any part of Nigeria, I would have been the first to speak out.”

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