Tinubu Shouldn’t Have Visited Benue If He Couldn't Show Empathy – Farotimi

Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Benue State, saying the President’s tone and posture during the trip were deeply insensitive to the pain and suffering of victims of recent violent attacks.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Farotimi said, “It would have been better if the President didn’t go. Human beings were murdered, and he spoke as if preparing for a campaign rally.”

According to him, the only meaningful voice during Tinubu’s visit to Makurdi was that of Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, who described the killings as a “calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits.”

Farotimi lamented that the President’s remarks barely acknowledged the extent of the tragedy. “The words of the Tor Tiv were the only part worthy of attention. Everything else revealed the President’s real priorities—optics, politics, and 2027,” he said.

Benue State, one of Nigeria’s major agricultural regions, has been plagued by violent attacks from suspected herders. In the past two months alone, over 160 people have been killed, with the recent Yelewata attack displacing more than 3,000 residents. While the government claimed 59 deaths, civil society groups reported closer to 200.

International condemnation has followed, with Pope Leo XIV describing the killings as a “terrible massacre” and urging an end to the bloodshed.

Following mounting criticism, Tinubu visited the state on Wednesday and ordered security agencies to arrest those responsible. But Farotimi condemned the "red carpet" welcome the President received in a state still in mourning.

“They staged a theatre to please the President. It felt like a political rally, not a condolence visit. The state’s primary duty is to protect lives and property—yet over 200 citizens were killed, and it barely registered,” he said.

Farotimi concluded by urging the government to stop politicizing tragedy and instead act to protect Nigerian lives, stressing, “We’ve almost lost our capacity to be shocked.”