Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Benue State, saying the President’s presence lacked empathy and did little to acknowledge the suffering of victims of recent attacks.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, June 19, Farotimi said the visit felt more like political theatre than a show of national mourning.
“I must say very quickly that it would have been better if the president didn’t go,” he stated.
He added that the only meaningful part of the visit came from the Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, who, during the meeting with Tinubu, condemned the violence ravaging Benue as a “calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits.”
Farotimi said, “The only thing worthy of anybody’s time was the words of the Tor Tiv, who spoke extensively to the reality of the situation in the Benue trough and spoke eloquently to the pains of the victims.”
He criticised the reception Tinubu received, calling it a performance aimed at securing future political gain.
“In Benue, they knew exactly what was of importance to the president, so they ensured that they put up the necessary theatre for 2027
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“The death of over 200 people did not count much; they were mentioned only in passing, and you would have been excused that it was a political event,” Farotimi said.
Benue State has faced a renewed wave of killings by suspected herders in recent months, leaving hundreds dead.
The Yelewata community was one of the worst hit in an overnight raid last Friday, which displaced over 3,000 people. While government officials confirmed 59 deaths, civil groups claimed nearly 200 lives were lost.
Farotimi, reflecting on the broader failure of leadership, said, “The primary reason the state exists is to protect the lives and property of the citizens.
“We’ve almost lost our capacity to be shocked. 200 human beings were murdered, and the President went to Benue and was talking as if he were preparing for a campaign rally.
“It was more or less that they went to dance on the graves of some of whom may not even be identified. Let the state begin to protect the lives and property of the citizens.”
President Tinubu, during his Wednesday visit, instructed security agencies to bring the killings to an end and apprehend those responsible.
His visit followed mounting pressure from opposition leaders and global condemnation, including from Pope Leo XIV, who decried the “terrible massacre” in the state.