Governor Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia of Benue State paid a courtesy visit to Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, Chief of Naval Staff, at the Nigerian Navy Headquarters in Abuja to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation on national security.
In a significant display of intergovernmental synergy aimed at bolstering national security, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, the Executive Governor of Benue State, extended a formal courtesy visit to Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), at the Nigerian Navy Headquarters in Abuja today.
The visit which took place today, Friday, November 14, 2025, builds directly on Vice Admiral Abbas's inaugural operational tour of Benue State earlier this week, underscoring a deepening partnership between the state administration and the naval high command.
Governor Alia, a Catholic priest ordained in 1990 and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), assumed office on May 29, 2023, marking him as only the second Catholic cleric to lead Benue State. Hailing from Vandeikya Local Government Area and born on May 15, 1966, Alia has prioritized agricultural revitalization and conflict resolution in his tenure, navigating the state's persistent security volatilities rooted in ethno-religious tensions and resource disputes.
His administration has been particularly proactive in advocating for enhanced federal security presence amid escalating farmer-herder clashes and banditry that have plagued the Middle Belt region, displacing thousands and claiming hundreds of lives in 2025 alone.
The visit commenced with Governor Alia extending heartfelt congratulations to Vice Admiral Abbas on his recent elevation to the helm of the Nigerian Navy. Appointed in late October 2025 by President Bola Tinubu, Abbas, a 56-year-old native of Nassarawa Local Government Area in Kano State, brings over three decades of distinguished service to the role.
His career trajectory includes command of key vessels such as the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Thunder and NNS Aradu, alongside strategic roles in naval doctrine development and international collaborations, positioning him as a pivotal figure in modernizing Nigeria's maritime defenses against piracy, oil theft, and inland threats.
Expressing profound gratitude for selecting Benue as the venue for his maiden operational assessment conducted on November 11, 2025, Governor Alia lauded the strategic foresight behind this choice. During that tour, Vice Admiral Abbas inspected critical naval assets in Makurdi, including the nascent permanent site of the Nigerian Navy Special Operations Command (NNSOC) at North Bank, where he was warmly received by Rear Admiral I.C. Zheng, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) the command. Alia highlighted the transformative impact of existing naval footprints in Benue, with particular emphasis on the NNSOC's headquarters.
Inaugurated in May 2025, the NNSOC represents a landmark expansion of the Nigerian Navy's inland capabilities, designed to integrate special warfare units for rapid response to asymmetric threats like armed militancy and communal violence that have intensified in the Middle Belt. This command, spanning specialized training in counter-terrorism, riverine operations, and intelligence-driven interventions, is poised to synergize with the Nigerian Army and Air Force, addressing the over 2,000 fatalities reported in the region during the first quarter of 2025 from militia incursions and reprisal attacks.
"The establishment of the NNSOC in Makurdi is a beacon of hope for our resilient people," Governor Alia remarked, echoing sentiments from Benue's citizenry who view the initiative as a bulwark against the seasonal spikes in violence—often exacerbated by receding river levels that expose vulnerable farmlands. He reaffirmed his administration's unwavering dedication to fostering a collaborative ecosystem with the Navy, including logistical support, community intelligence networks, and policy alignments to fortify Benue's role as a security hub in Nigeria's North-Central corridor.
In reciprocation, Vice Admiral Abbas expressed sincere appreciation for Governor Alia's prompt visit, noting it as the inaugural official engagement at Naval Headquarters since his assumption of duties. He underscored the NNSOC's centrality to recalibrating Nigeria's security architecture, particularly in mitigating the multifaceted insurgencies that have displaced communities across Benue, Plateau, and neighboring states. "Makurdi's selection for our flagship command is no accident; it is a deliberate thrust toward operational agility in the heartland," the CNS affirmed, pledging to accelerate the command's full activation through enhanced funding, personnel augmentation, and joint exercises.
This commitment aligns with broader naval reforms under his leadership, including the procurement of advanced riverine patrol crafts and unmanned aerial systems tailored for Middle Belt terrains. The dialogue concluded on a note of resolute consensus, with both leaders vowing to streamline bureaucratic hurdles and mobilize resources for the NNSOC's expeditious rollout. This could see the command achieving operational maturity by early 2026, potentially curtailing the humanitarian toll of insecurity—estimated at over 100,000 internally displaced persons in Benue as of mid-2025. Such advancements are especially timely amid international scrutiny on Nigeria's internal conflicts, including recent calls for community-led security models to complement federal efforts.
This reciprocal high-level interaction not only fortifies civil-military relations but also signals a proactive federal stance against the entrenched cycles of violence in Nigeria's agrarian heartlands. As Benue State grapples with its dual mandate of food security and stability, partnerships like this offer a pathway to sustainable peace.