About 200 people were killed by gunmen in Benue State yesterday in an attack that started late on Friday and continued into the early hours of the next day. The victims were in Yelwata, in the Guma local government area of the state. Pope Leo used his Sunday prayers to appeal for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria, particularly for the “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence”.
The massacre is most likely linked to tit for tat attacks between local communities and Fulani herdsmen, whose cattle grazing practices inevitably lead to conflict with local farmers.
Responding to the attack on Twitter, Amnesty International tweeted: “Amnesty International has been documenting the alarming escalation of attacks across Benue state where gunmen have been on a killing spree with utter impunity. These attacks have been causing massive displacement and may affect food security as majority of the victims are farmers. The Nigerian authorities’ failure to stem the violence is costing people’s lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost.”
Despite the swift interventions of the Pope and Amnesty International, there was no response at the time of writing from President Bola Tinubu either via his official Twitter handle @officialABAT or via the Presidency’s handle @NGRPresident. The presidency were rather more concerned with a tribute to General Abdulsalami Abubakar on his birthday and condoling with PM Narendra Modi of India on the Air India crash last week. The president’s Twitter handle also found the time to commemorate Father’s Day. Not a peep about the fathers that were killed in Benue State or the fathers whose children were killed.
Tinubu, in one of his many viral video clips, once said “enjoy your weekend”. It looks like he’s too busy “enjoying” his weekend to allow it to be disrupted by the violent deaths of about 200 of the citizens his primary duty is to protect.
