Benue govt denies creating environment for terrorists

The Benue State Commission for Peace and Reconciliation has denied allegations that Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration is creating an environment conducive to terrorist training.

In a press conference in Makurdi, Director-General, Josephine Kpadoo Habba, described the claims as “misleading” and clarified that the state government is, instead, implementing a Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) programme aimed at rescuing and rehabilitating children abducted by bandits and coerced into criminal activities.

The Commission showed that over 1,800 individuals, mostly victims rather than hardened criminals, are in the bush, with 1,170 verified as having no prior criminal records before their abduction.

Mrs. Habba emphasised the need to “deconstruct the mindset” of those who have been in the bush for years and “reconstruct them into human beings again.”

The state government has allocated N1billion for the Commission in the year’s budget to facilitate the rehabilitation, which includes psychological counselling, vocational training, de-radicalisation certification, and community-based reintegration.

The programme, modelled after the military’s UN-certified Operation Safe Corridor, aims to ensure that participants are tracked through a biometric database and undergo rigorous rehabilitation without cash incentives for surrendering weapons.

Alia has assured of his commitment to restoring peace in Benue, and the launch of the peace strategy is scheduled for tomorrow during a peace summit in Makurdi.