Benue APC Crisis Worsens As Police Shut Secretariat

Police on Friday used tear gas on an anti-Austin Agada group that attacked the state's party chairman while trying to enter the APC's state secretariat in Makurdi, suggesting that the intra-party crisis roiling the Benue State chapter of the party has no end in sight.

The incident happened after the Chief of Staff wrote a letter to Governor Hyacinth Alia, allegedly due to the insecurity caused by the herder influx, conveying the governor's directive to Emmanuel Adesina, the Commissioner of Police, to ban all political activities in the state indefinitely.

“I write to inform you that His Excellency Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alla has banned all political gatherings in any form, be it inter or intra party or groups in Benue State till further notice,” the letter dated February 27, 2024 read.

“This has become necessary following Intelligence on the volatility of the security atmosphere in the state.”