Dele Farotimi

Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Benue State, describing it as tone-deaf and politically motivated. He said it would have been better if the President had not visited the state at all.

Farotimi, speaking Thursday on The Morning Brief on Channels Television, said the President’s actions and words in Makurdi, the state capital, fell short of the gravity of the humanitarian crisis caused by recent killings in Benue communities.

“It would have been better if the President didn’t go,” he 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.”

During President Tinubu’s visit on Wednesday, he met with Governor Hyacinth Alia, traditional rulers, and former governors, and directed security agencies to arrest those behind the massacre in Yelewata, Guma LGA, which reportedly left over 200 people dead. The government officially confirmed 59 casualties, while civil rights groups claim the death toll is much higher.

Farotimi criticised the red-carpet reception accorded to the President in a state mourning hundreds of lives, saying it reduced a tragedy to a campaign-style appearance.

“In Benue, they knew exactly what was of importance to the President, so they ensured that they put up the necessary theatre for 2027,” he said. “It was more or less that they went to dance on the graves of some of whom may not even be identified.”

He argued that the President’s remarks at the town hall failed to reflect the urgency of the crisis or acknowledge the scale of the human loss.

“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.”

Farotimi reiterated that the state’s foremost duty is to protect lives and property, stressing that anything short of this is a failure of governance.