Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the Lead Counsel of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has criticized Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State for discouraging his people from defending themselves against criminal assailants.
In a statement, Ejiofor noted that Governor Alia’s pronouncement recent pronouncement calling on unarmed and defenseless citizens not to engage in self-defence, portray him as one not prepared for governance.
“It is not just a dereliction of duty; it is a betrayal of the collective agony of Benue people who have endured one of the worst humanitarian crises in Nigeria’s modern history.
He argued that any leader who cannot stand between his people and the sword is simply not fit to sit on the throne.
The statement
The statement reads, “It is both distressing and disheartening to hear Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, himself a former Reverend Father, openly discourage the very people he swore to protect from defending themselves against the bloodthirsty incursions of killer herdsmen.
“Governor Alia’s posture once again affirms what many have long feared: that he remains tragically unsuited for the brutal realities of political leadership.
“His training as a cleric may have prepared him for the pulpit, but not for the urgent, often harsh demands of governance in a state under siege.
“The question must now be asked; how many more lives must be wasted before Governor Alia realizes that prayer without action is nothing but pious abdication?
Ejiofor lauded other notable Nigerians, including respected past and serving security chiefs, have urged indigenous communities under repeated and unprovoked attacks to defend themselves as a legitimate survival response.
Not time for docility
He condemned the Governor for advocating docility in the face of death, a call he described surrender rather than leadership.
“If the Tinubu-led Federal Government lacks the moral and political courage to declare a State of Emergency in Benue, then the burden now rests squarely on the Benue State House of Assembly.
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers them to act in defence of their people.
“If Governor Alia has lost touch with the reality of his people’s suffering, if he has chosen to speak peace where there is no peace; then it is incumbent on the House to activate the relevant constitutional mechanisms and return him to the pulpit where idealism, not realism, reigns supreme.
“This is not just about politics. This is about lives- about families wiped out, farmlands razed, and entire communities living in fear within their ancestral homes.
“Any leader who cannot stand between his people and the sword is simply not fit to sit on the throne,” Ejiofor submitted.
