The Atiku Support Organisation (ASO) has come down hard on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of turning a blind eye to the relentless violence ravaging Benue State.
This reaction comes after another deadly weekend attack in Benue that claimed over 100 lives—the third such incident in just one week—triggering nationwide outrage and renewed calls for federal intervention.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Victor Moses, the group described the ongoing bloodshed as a national tragedy and a damning failure of leadership.
ASO expressed deep concern over what it called the federal government’s “concerning silence” in the face of repeated massacres. According to the group, over 1,200 people have been killed in Benue between January and June 2025 alone, yet no major arrests or military interventions have been reported.
Even more troubling, the group noted, is that President Tinubu has not visited the affected communities or issued any public statement acknowledging the scale of the crisis. The group called for the President’s immediate resignation if he cannot uphold the constitutional responsibility of safeguarding Nigerian lives.
“This isn’t just about poor governance—it’s about the outright abandonment of constitutional duty,” the statement read. “People are being butchered, homes are torched, and entire families are wiped out, yet the government acts as though nothing is happening.”
The group lamented that while voices from outside the country, including Pope Leo XIV in Rome, have spoken out against the killings, Nigeria’s own Commander-in-Chief has maintained what they described as a “deafening silence.”
To support its position, ASO quoted iconic African leaders. Citing Nelson Mandela, it said, “A leader who fails his people on security forfeits the moral right to lead.” It also referenced Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s words: “Any government that cannot guarantee the safety of its people has lost the first claim to legitimacy.”
In response to the escalating crisis, the group issued a set of urgent demands. These include the immediate deployment of a strong military presence in Benue, relocation of the Chief of Army Staff to the state for direct coordination, and a personal visit from President Tinubu to the communities affected by the violence.
The rest of the world is watching. Under Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria is inching dangerously close to a state of total lawlessness, ASO warned. “History will not be kind to those who chose silence in the face of genocide.”
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