BENUE’S BIGGEST SCAM: HOW ALIA DECEIVED A STATE & SOLD ITS PEOPLE TO FULANI
…Inside Alia’s Empire of Lies, Betrayal and Corruption
By Oliver Omenka
Hyacinth Alia, the suspended priest who manipulated sentiments, deceived the masses, and smuggled himself into Government House, has never been the noble figure he pretended to be. Alia is not a man of honour; he is a long-standing catalogue of deceit. His life has been built on lies, theatrics, and dark alliances that have now exploded in the full glare of the people.
Those who voted for Alia in 2023 were swept up in a haze of hypnosis and spiritual manipulation, after he took an oath with Fulani and they supported his campaign with N7 billion. Today, the illusion has shattered and the scale has fallen off the faces of Benue people.
Let’s look at a few instances of how Alia is a master of falsehood and fraud:
His Suspension from Priesthood
When he was suspended by the Bishop, Alia quickly claimed that the letter Bishop William Avenya wrote suspending him was merely a pat on the back to officially release him to run for governorship. What! A letter that clearly stated that the priest was suspended because of his rebellion (contumacy) against the Church suddenly became “permission” to contest an election?
His School Certificate
Alia released his purported WAEC certificate, which was obviously forged. All WAEC certificates, whether GCE or SSCE, bear two important numbers, the Candidate Number and the Certificate Number. It is only Alia’s WAEC certificate that is different, without any of those two numbers. What a man!
The APC Guber Primaries
The yahoo yahoo governorship primary election that produced him as APC candidate was a fraud. It was only in Vandeikya that some hemp-smoking hooligans were quickly assembled to queue up and pretend as if they were voting. Pictures and videos were made to give the impression that a direct primary held. No election took place. But the “man of god” (not God) came out to accept the result of the sham primary and described it as transparent, free, and fair. Kai!
His Visit to El-Rufai
Before the 2023 elections, Alia visited the then Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, where he took an oath and signed an agreement with the governor and other Fulani extremists. They listed terms and conditions before giving him the financial support he requested to run his campaign. One of the conditions was that he would give Benue lands to the Fulani to occupy, protect their interests, and grant their cattle herders free access to grazing fields across all 23 local government areas of the state. Alia eagerly accepted the conditions, and the Fulani gave him ₦7 billion.
A man seeking public office who was already lying as if his life depended on falsehood was surely going to be very dangerous to the state. It is happening today!
The Cement Scandal
A trailer-load of cement bags was donated to St. Thomas Catholic Church, Anum, opposite BSU First Gate, by the former Auditor-General of the Federation, Samuel Ukura, for the building of a new church structure. Alia, who was then the Parish Priest of Anum, diverted the cement. It was never used for the church project. It became an open subject of discussion among church members how Fr. Alia diverted the trailer of cement and used it to build his private house, which he calls the “White House,” in New GRA.
Now that he is governor, Alia’s true colours have come out boldly for all Benue to see!
Loan Lies
The governor said he has never taken a loan, but the House of Assembly recently approved a ₦100 billion loan for him without any reasonable explanation.
Broken Promises
Shortly before the 2023 election, he promised:
“I will return all the IDPs to their ancestral homes within my first 100 days in office.” LIE!
He is instead building additional camps for the IDPs.
He promised:
“I will clear the arrears of salaries and pensions within my first 100 days in office.” LIE!
He is the only state governor under the President Tinubu era yet to clear arrears of salaries, pensions, and gratuities.
He promised:
“I will end insecurity in all parts of Benue State. The algorithm is quite simple.” LIE!
He promised:
“I will grant full autonomy to local governments.” LIE!
But he now hates to hear the phrase “local government autonomy.”
After the 2023 election, he said:
“We are paying salaries with only the state IGR and not touching federal allocations.” LIE!
His government has been receiving huge FAAC allocations but refuses to give account of the funds.
“I have sealed all government bank accounts because the past government issued some individuals cheques and they are waiting to cash out.” LIE!
He sealed the accounts so he alone could spend the funds as he pleases. He sees Benue resources as church parish money.
“The Ubokoti mbaioruv (Akume’s camp) are against me because they asked me to bring the state funds to be shared but I refused.” LIE!
No one requested a penny from him. He is only using that false excuse to deceive the public.
He told the public that the killings in Benue State are not genocide!
More Contradictions
“The State Assembly passed a resolution to remove the State Chief Judge, but I did not sign it because I know it has to be procedural.” LIE!
He personally directed the former Attorney-General, Fidelis Mnyim, to initiate the removal process of the Chief Judge.
“The Attorney-General joined the state in the suit seeking to scrap EFCC without my consent.” LIE!
He was desperate to ensure that the EFCC was scrapped because he knows he is their tenant-in-waiting.
He forced the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Aondona Dajoh, to resign. Reliable sources confirmed that the forced resignation resulted from an in-depth investigation by the Dajoh-led Assembly, which uncovered shocking corruption by the governor and his appointees. Yet, in his usual manner of denial, Governor Alia publicly distanced himself from the Speaker’s removal.
“National Assembly members from Benue wrote a letter and dropped it at the Nigeria-Niger border inviting armed herders to return to Benue to graze freely and disrupt my administration.” LIE!
He was the one who received ₦7 billion from Fulani people and took an oath to protect them in Benue State and give them lands to occupy.
“We have tackled insecurity to a standstill. The state under my watch is enjoying relative peace.” LIE!
This mocks the victims of herdsmen attacks in Benue State, many of whom have been killed and thousands displaced from their ancestral communities.
After 200 people were killed in Yelewata, he claimed:
“The authentic casualty number we have is that only 59 people were killed in Yelewata.” LIE!
This man lacks human decency, integrity, and compassion. He places importance on his seat of power above the safety of the people. He lies effortlessly, even against the dead.
“What we are witnessing in Benue State are mere skirmishes and communal clashes, not herdsmen attacks.” LIE!
Another lie from the pit of hell! No fewer than 18 local governments of Benue State have been attacked by his Fulani partners.
“The killings in Sankera are homegrown; the militia in Sankera are fighting for supremacy; it is a battle for supremacy by rival cult groups, not Fulani.” LIE!
“The ECOWAS protocol on transhumance has allowed herders to freely come into the state with their cattle at any time.” LIE!
“I have issued a two-week ultimatum to herders to vacate Benue State or have me to contend with. We must enforce the Anti-Open Grazing Law.” LIE!
In the next breath, he contradicted himself, saying:
“We can’t enforce the Anti-Grazing Law of the state because it is not a national legislation.” LIE!
“Youths of Gwer East rustled cows, slaughtered the cows, and were selling them in wheelbarrows.” LIE!
A governor who falsely accuses his own people before the world is not fit to be on that seat. Alia has sold Benue people to Fulani!
*Listen to more of his contradictory statements:*
“The people killing our people are foreigners and not Fulanis; they don’t speak Fulani language.” LIE!
“Peter Obi didn’t inform me that he intended to visit Benue. I barred Obi from visiting the IDP camps because I wanted to protect the displaced people.” LIE!
“Our administration has awarded the 13km Wurukum–Airforce Base road at the cost of ₦68.3 billion!” LIE!
It is corruption of the highest order!
Contracts for projects are awarded by Governor Alia without due process, and the project figures are highly inflated. The governor awards contracts that are not budgeted for, in gross disregard for due process, and without the approval of the State Executive Council or oversight from the State House of Assembly. He deliberately refuses to disclose contract details, sums, duration, and other terms.
Governor Hyacinth Alia has reduced governance in Benue State to a theatre of falsehood and contradictions. His unending stream of lies has deepened public distrust and worsened the suffering of the people he swore to serve.
• Omenka is the Secretary-General, Network for Transparent Governance (NTG)
