It all exploded on November 19, 2025, during a National Human Rights Commission event in Abuja on displaced persons.
The Catholic priest-turned-governor bluntly stated: "In my State of Benue, we don’t have any religious, any ethnic, any racial, any national, or State genocide." He admitted insecurity exists but insisted it doesn't meet the UN definition of genocide.
Clips went viral. Critics accused the governor of downplaying years of deadly herder-farmer clashes that have claimed hundreds of lives, mostly in Christian farming communities, and displaced thousands into IDP camps.
Some whispered political motives – after all, Alia has pushed back against international narratives labeling Nigeria a hotspot for Christian persecution.
By November 21, the government fired back with a statement from Commissioner Peter Egbodo: Alia "never denied the killings" and feels the pain of every lost life deeply.
He only urged against framing the violence purely as religious, saying it involves land disputes, criminality, and banditry – not a holy war.
A separate viral video added fuel: Alia once said attackers "followed their plans religiously," meaning meticulously organized, not tied to any faith. Misinterpreted, again.
On November 21, after meeting Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka in Makurdi, Alia told journalists personally: "I never denied that my people were being killed. Their goal is land grabbing. This crisis did not begin as anything religious."
He lamented media twists and called for accurate reporting to avoid dividing communities further.
Victims from all backgrounds have suffered, he stressed, and every death is "one too many."
Behind the scenes, Alia has ramped up security ties, aided IDPs, and lobbied globally for more help – all while mourning with bereaved families.
Yet the controversy lingers. Was it a clumsy phrase from a priest in politics, or a deliberate shift to cool ethnic tensions?
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