Hyacinth Dajoh, former speaker of the Benue House of Assembly, has alleged that Hyacinth Alia, governor of the state, forced him to resign from office for refusing to support the relocation of the palace of the Tor Tiv from Gboko.
Dajoh, who represented Gboko West in the assembly, was elected speaker on June 5, 2023.
However, he resigned in August 2025, 48 hours after the house suspended four lawmakers over an alleged attempt to impeach him as speaker.
Following his resignation, Dajoh was suspended by the assembly for three months over allegations that he plotted to impeach the governor.
The suspension was extended by a further six months in November amid investigations into his conduct, a move the ex-speaker’s allies described as a witch-hunt.
Speaking on Saturday during activities marking his 50th birthday celebration at Akpagher Mbatiav in Gboko LGA of the state, Dajoh alleged that the events leading to his resignation were orchestrated by the governor.
He said his only offence was refusing the governor’s proposal to relocate the palace of the Tiv traditional ruler from Gboko to Ihugh, the governor’s hometown in Vandeikya LGA.
Dajoh alleged that the governor conveyed the proposal through an official communication, which he immediately rejected.
He claimed the rejection angered Alia, who subsequently moved against him and forced him out of office.
“Governor Alia sent a letter to me directing that I should relocate the Tor Tiv Palace from Gboko to his community, Ihugh. I rejected the idea. I told him that he wanted to kill me. This was one of my biggest offences,” Dajoh said.
“When I rejected the idea of moving the Tor Tiv palace to the governor’s hometown, Moses Ternenge (one of the two most powerful men around Governor Alia) told me that if I rejected the proposal, I should consider that as the end of my speakership.”
The ex-speaker claimed that in the build-up to the 2023 elections, the governor, at an event in Jemgbagh, “declared that anyone who oppressed the people of the area would be afflicted with madness”.
Dajoh said the governor had himself gone against the interests of the Jemgbagh people through a series of political decisions.
“It was on this soil that Alia stood and said anybody who beats the Jemgbagh people will be inflicted with madness. But Alia has beaten Tor Jemgbagh and Ter Gboko, taken the Jemgbagh Speaker to another zone, beaten their sons, so he has been inflicted with madness,” Dajoh said.
Tersoo Kula, chief press secretary (CPS) to the governor, was not immediately available for comment on the allegations.
