Benue Killings: “Nigerians are Dying, President Nowhere to be Found,” Atiku Fires Tinubu Again

• Atiku Abubakar has again launched a scathing attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s handling of Nigeria’s worsening security situation
• Amid the killings in Benue state, the opposition leader accused President Tinubu of absence and indifference in the face of national tragedy
• In a strongly worded statement seen by Legit.ng, Atiku condemned the Tinubu administration’s alleged failure to address the recent violent attacks in Benue state adequately

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering elections, politics and governance in Nigeria.

Markurdi, Benue – Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, has said the Bola Tinubu administration has “proven, time and again, to be utterly incapable”.

According to a statement he signed on Saturday night, April 19, Atiku said Tinubu has shown that he is “wholly incompetent, and completely devoid of any coherent ideas for tackling Nigeria’s deepening security crisis.”

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The oppposition figure said if Tinubu is incapable of protecting Nigerians, “the very least he can do is pretend to care —regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation”.

The former vice-president stated that this is not just his position, but “a growing consensus among political opposition leaders, respected security experts, and even members within the ruling party who, though too timid to speak publicly, confess this uncomfortable truth behind closed doors.“

Lamenting the killings in Benue state which has seen the death toll risen to 56., Atiku said “the blood of innocent Nigerians continues to be spilled with appalling regularity”. The 78-year-old added that the Tinubu presidency allegedly remains disturbingly indifferent, displaying neither urgency nor the basic decency of public empathy.

He said:

“Leadership demands presence. In 2016, President Barack Obama cut short an important diplomatic visit to return home after five police officers were killed in a lone gunman attack. In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa abandoned a state visit to Egypt to return to South Africa amid an electricity crisis. Even U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, heavily criticised for fleeing to Mexico during a deadly winter storm in Texas, eventually returned and acknowledged his mistake.

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“In our own history, President Goodluck Jonathan returned from Equatorial Guinea in 2014 following a deadly bomb blast in Abuja. That is the expected minimum in moments of national trauma.

“Yet President Bola Tinubu, incapable of solving Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, chooses instead to gallivant across Europe — governing Nigeria in absentia as if from a holiday perch. If he cannot act, the least he can do is show up. If he cannot lead with empathy, he should at least attempt the performance of it. Nigeria is bleeding. Nigerians are dying. The president is nowhere to be found.”

Atiku, therefore, extended his condolences to the government and people of Benue state.

Legit.ng reports that there is worsening insecurity in Benue state.

Fatal attacks, which occurred in the Sankera axis of the state, have left dozens dead and several communities displaced.

In response to the attacks, the security presence in the area has increased.

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In the same vein, Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue appealed to the Tinubu-led federal government to help deal with rising insecurity in the state.

The governor made the call when he visited scenes of attacks on Saturday, April 19.

Governor Alia said:

“Our people deserve to live in peace, farm in peace, and raise their families without fear.”

Emergency services have also been deployed, and relief materials are being distributed across the affected loca government areas (LGAs).

The attacks in Ukum and Logo are the latest in a series of incidents linked to suspected herdsmen in Benue, a state frequently at the centre of Nigeria’s armed conflicts.

Atiku fires Tinubu as death toll rises to 52 in fresh Plateau killings

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Atiku tackled President Tinubu.

In a post on his verified X (formerly known as Twitter) account, Atiku bemoaned the recent killings in Bokkos local government area (LGA) of Plateau state.

Source: Legit.ng