Human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi criticises President Tinubu for politicising his Benue condolence visit after the massacre of over 200 citizens
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]peaking on Channels Television, Farotimi criticised the president’s handling of the tragic situation, accusing him of turning a condolence visit into a campaign-style appearance.
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He expressed deep disappointment at the government’s response, which he said reflected complicity, not compassion.
“It wasn’t righteous at all,” declared human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi, as he lambasted President Bola Tinubu for what he described as an insensitive and politically charged visit to Benue State, where over 200 Nigerians were recently killed.
“It is appalling that the president could visit a grieving state and deliver what appeared to be a campaign speech,” Farotimi said.
“The government needs to come clean and admit that it is complicit in the senseless genocide ongoing in Nigeria.”
He stressed that the primary duty of any government is to protect lives and property, regardless of its political structure.
According to him, the rhetoric from the president was devoid of empathy and disrespectful to the victims and their families.
“We’ve almost lost our capacity to be shocked. Two hundred human beings were murdered, and the president was talking as if he was prepping for a campaign rally,” he said.
It is appalling that the president could visit a grieving state and deliver what appeared to be a campaign speech.
Farotimi further claimed that security agencies are fully aware of terrorist camps operating across Benue, Plateau, and Nasarawa states but have taken no decisive action.
He dismissed any hope of quiet efforts to resolve the crisis, instead accusing the state of enabling mass violence by disarming vulnerable communities.
“There’s very little about our situation to inspire optimism,” he remarked. “The only thing the government seems capable of is disarming local people before attacks, leaving them as sitting ducks.”
He called for urgent reforms to the country’s policing system, arguing that centralised security management has repeatedly failed.
“This federal system is a lie. Our security architecture is a failure by design,” he asserted, urging the creation of state police as a practical solution to the nation’s insecurity.
As pupils soaked in rain lined up in Makurdi to welcome the president earlier this week, Farotimi questioned the morality and sincerity of the visit.
“The president is talking about committees as if he was fulfilling all righteousness. But it wasn’t righteous. The state should stop colluding with killers. If it has failed, let Nigerians defend themselves.”
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He concluded by urging the government to either take decisive action or step aside for communities to defend their lives and livelihoods.
