Human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s red carpet reception and speech during his visit to Benue State.
According to reports, Benue, a food-producing state in Nigeria’s North-Central zone, has been subjected to frequent attacks by suspected herders.
However, the killings in the last several weeks have continued unabated, with no fewer than 160 citizens proven killed in a string of attacks by suspected herders who wrecked havoc in various areas across the state within two months.
During a midnight attack by suspected herdsmen in the state’s Yelewata district last Friday, scores of locals were slain and over 3000 people were displaced. Though the government stated that 59 people were killed, civil rights organizations reported that about 200 people died.
Following a barrage of condemnation from opposition arrowheads, President Bola Tinubu visited Benue on Wednesday and challenged the state’s service leaders with putting an end to the bloodshed and arresting those responsible.
During an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Farotimi remarked that it would have been preferable if President Tinubu had not visited Benue State than to visit the state and stay unconcerned about the fate of its citizens.
He claimed Tinubu’s speech was remorseless, as if he were preparing for a campaign rally.
Farotimi said the Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, was the only person who said anything noteworthy during Tinubu’s visit to Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Wednesday. Ayatse described the attacks as a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits.
He said, “I must say very immediately that it would have been preferable if the president had not gone.
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“The only thing worth anyone’s time were the words of the Tor Tiv, who spoke extensively about the truth of the situation in the Benue basin and spoke eloquently about the victims’ suffering.
“Aside from that, all the president had to provide were glimpses into his preoccupation and the true concerns of his aides and assistants. In Benue, they knew exactly what was important to the president, so they made sure to build the required theatre in 2027.
“The deaths of almost 200 individuals were barely acknowledged; you could have been forgiven for thinking it was a political event.
“The state exists primarily to defend citizens’ lives and property. We have nearly lost our ability to be astonished. 200 people were slain, and the President traveled to Benue, where he spoke as if he were preparing for a campaign rally.
