As the National Assembly reconvened on 29 April 2025 after its extended recess, deep divisions have erupted between the House of Representatives and Benue State House over a surge of carnage in the Middle Belt. Deputy Spokesman Philip Agbese squarely blames Governor Hyacinth Alia’s decision to suspend the state’s anti–open grazing law for recent massacres that have claimed at least 56 lives in Ukum and Logo LGAs alone, while the governor retorts that proper legislative processes were ignored in suspending any law.
With the Federal Government under pressure to act, and a House Committee threatening to usurp state powers, the drama has laid bare long-standing tensions over resource control, ethnic identity and constitutional authority
When Recess Turns to Bloodshed
The 10th National Assembly, led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, returned from its extended recess on 29 April 2025 amid mounting outrage over a fresh spate of slaughter in Benue State.
In the past three weeks alone, coordinated raids in Ukum and Logo Local Government Areas have left at least 56 indigenous farmers dead, and hundreds displaced as “foreign-armed herders” wielding AK-47s carved a path of terror across the Middle Belt.
Deputy Spokesman Philip Agbese (Ado/Ogbadigbo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency) immediately pinned responsibility on Governor Hyacinth Alia, accusing him of “abandoning” Benue’s anti-open grazing law and thus inviting this belligerence.
The governor’s camp retorted through his Technical Adviser, Solomon Iorpev, that in a democracy laws cannot be “suspended” without due legislative process—implying Agbese knows “nothing about democracy”.
With the Federal Executive urged by Benue’s leadership to intervene and the House Committee on Public Petitions threatening to assume state legislative functions, a constitutional crisis now rages in Abuja and Makurdi alike.
“Political Theatre”: NASS vs. Governor Alia
Agbese’s Accusation: Lawlessness Invites Massacre
Philip Agbese contends that under the administration of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Benue’s once-stringent anti-open grazing law was effectively nullified.
He notes that whereas herders previously registered their identities and grazing routes with local communities, Alia dismissed these protocols in favour of a literal reading of the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement—overlooking its requirement for documentation and local consent.
“Before his election, the law required herders to give information about themselves to locals. They were known to the people. Now, armed men arrive unseen,” Agbese told The Punch exclusively, vowing that the House would “recommend to Mr President to relieve security chiefs of their duties” if fresh ideas are not forthcoming.
Alia’s Rebuttal: Process Over Panic
In response, Governor Alia’s spokesman, Iorpev, derided the Deputy Spokesman’s understanding of democratic process:
“Only in a military regime can you suspend laws without following due process. If he has no evidence of such suspension, it means he knows nothing about democracy,” Iorpev said, reaffirming Alia’s commitment to “full enforcement” of the grazing ban.
Meanwhile, the Benue State House of Assembly has convened to debate whether to honour a summons from the federal Public Petitions Committee on 8 May—a move that, if refused, could prompt the National Assembly to seize state powers under Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution.
The Human Toll: Displacement, Despair and Federal Pleas
“They Came at Dawn”: Eyewitness Nightmares
In Ukum and Logo LGAs, survivors recount how gunmen—believed to be heavily armed herders—struck villages before sunrise, slaughtering men, women and children in their homes and farms. At least 56 bodies have since been recovered, with locals describing entire homesteads razed to the ground.
The Police have confirmed multiple coordinated raids across both LGAs, leaving 17 more victims in a single attack last week alone.
“We heard the gunshots and ran for cover, but my uncle was felled in his cocoa farm,” a displaced farmer from Minda village told regional correspondents. “They spared no one—they chased my neighbours with machetes and rifles.”
‘A Sea of Tents’: The IDP Crisis
Benue now shelters its traumatised in 17 official IDP camps, with thousands huddling under make-shift tents along state roads and in community schools.
Basic sanitation and medical supplies are severely lacking, and humanitarian agencies warn of imminent outbreaks of cholera and malaria among children and the elderly.
“We are running out of food and clean water,” lamented Mrs. Aondo Ule, mother of four, who fled her village in Logo. “We sleep on the bare earth, hungry, while our farms lie abandoned.”
Pleas to Abuja: Governor’s Call for Federal Intervention
In a rare united front, Governor Hyacinth Alia appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to cut short his vacation in France and “take the fight against terror from the front”.
At a security meeting in Makurdi, Alia warned that unless Abuja swiftly deploys additional troops and arms local vigilantes, more massacres will follow.
“Our people are dying in their hundreds,” he told The Punch. “This is no longer a local crisis—it is a national security emergency demanding urgent federal action.”
Civil Rights Alarm: Petition to Usurp State Powers
Meanwhile, the civil society group Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law has petitioned the House Committee on Public Petitions to assume the functions of the Benue State Assembly under Section 11(4) of the Constitution—arguing that by “abandoning” the anti-grazing law, the state government has effectively abdicated its duties.
The Committee has summoned both Governors Alia and Dauda Lawal for a hearing on 8 May, threatening to strip them of legislative authority should they fail to appear.
As IDPs languish, and the count of the dead climbs, all eyes turn to Abuja. Senators have vowed to place “incessant killings” atop their agenda on resumption, yet for Benue’s traumatised communities, words ring hollow without boots on the ground.
In sum, the Benue crisis has morphed from a tragic humanitarian emergency into a full‐blown constitutional and security flashpoint. Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution is now being invoked by the National Assembly in a bid to usurp state legislative functions—an unprecedented move that risks eroding federalism and further inflaming tensions.
Security analysts warn that the militarisation of herder–farmer clashes mirrors jihadist playbooks in the North‐East, underscoring the need for a comprehensive counter‐insurgency strategy rather than ad hoc legislative theatrics.
Policymakers must pivot to long‐term solutions—reviving vetted grazing reserves, strengthening community policing, and bolstering IDP relief—if Nigeria is to arrest the slide towards anarchy and preserve its constitutional order.
Constitutional Storm: The Federal vs State Tug-of-War
Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution empowers the National Assembly to legislate on matters normally within state competence “without prejudice to” its exclusive law-making powers, but never envisaged wholesale takeover of a State Assembly’s functions.
By threatening to invoke Section 11(4) to displace Benue’s legislature, the House Committee on Public Petitions has set a dangerous precedent that could unravel Nigeria’s federal structure.
Constitutional experts warn that such overreach may spark legal challenges, erode public trust in democratic processes, and encourage similar incursions by the centre into other states.
Security Implications: Escalation Beyond Cattle Rustling
The tactics employed by the suspected herders—coordinated dawn raids, use of automatic weapons, and scorched-earth tactics—bear worrying resemblance to patterns seen in Boko Haram and ISWAP operations, suggesting possible arms proliferation and shared logistics routes.
Since 2019, over 500 lives have been lost and 2.2 million displaced in North-Central Nigeria, a scale of violence that demands a unified counter-insurgency doctrine rather than siloed state responses.
Security analysts argue that without professionalising and integrating local vigilante groups into formal command structures, any federal troop deployment risks clashes of authority and further civilian harm.
Policy Prescriptions: From Grazing Reserves to Community-Centred Security
Reinstate and Regulate Grazing Reserves — Drawing on past RUGA proposals, the Federal Government has been urged to establish demarcated, professionally managed ranches or grazing corridors, with biometric registration of pastoralists to prevent anonymous armed incursions.
Community Policing and Intelligence Sharing — Integrate local vigilantes and traditional rulers into a State-led community policing framework, backed by federal intelligence support, to ensure early warning and rapid response.
Humanitarian Corridors and IDP Support — Scale up IDP camp services—water, sanitation, health—and establish humanitarian corridors to allow displaced farmers to return seasonally under protection, reducing long-term dependency and food-security risks.
Arms-Control Measures — Enact stringent small-arms licensing for pastoral communities and intensify border patrols to interdict illegal weapons trafficking identified as common to both herder militias and jihadist cells.
Closing Analysis: A Crossroads for Nigerian Federalism
Benue’s plight is no longer only a state tragedy but a national crucible. If Abuja retreats into legislative showdowns and constitutional brinkmanship, it risks plunging the Middle Belt into deeper lawlessness and inspiring copycat insurgencies elsewhere.
Conversely, by embracing robust federal–state collaboration, targeted security reforms and humane relief measures, Nigeria can demonstrate that its constitutional order remains resilient and its people, truly sovereign.
The question now is whether political grandstanding will give way to decisive action—before more blood is spilled and the federal compact irreparably fractures.