Tinubu’s Visit To Benue Came Too Late – Senator Dickson

Former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as a delayed and underwhelming response to the massacre in Benue State, where over 200 persons were killed on June 14 by suspected herdsmen.

Naija News recalls that Tinubu had visited Makurdi on Wednesday, five days after the killings in Yelewata and Daudu communities, where he met with Governor Hyacinth Alia, security chiefs, and traditional rulers, pledging support to restore peace in the troubled state.

Speaking during an interview on Arise News Thursday morning, Dickson said the President’s visit, though appreciated, did not reflect the urgency or gravity of the tragedy.

“While it’s commendable that President Tinubu visited Benue State, albeit he could have gone earlier than he did. The decisions taken and declarations made were not as forceful as some would have wanted,” he stated.

The senator said the response lacked the empathy and leadership expected in such dire circumstances.

Dickson rejected the framing of the killings as mere communal conflicts, insisting that what is unfolding in Benue, Plateau, and other parts of Nigeria is far more sinister.

“What has been going on in Benue, Plateau, and in some other places is actually a collective assault. It’s an assault on the collective psyche of Nigerians and as human beings,” he said.

He described the violence as “pure criminality at a near genocidal level,” criticising attempts to equate cattle rustling with mass killings.

“You can’t equate killing a cow with slaughtering hundreds of human beings,” he added.

The lawmaker also referenced a disturbing viral image from the attack, showing a woman and her child in a hospital bed — the child’s arm severed.

“There’s one picture that is very poignant. I don’t know if you have seen it — the picture of the lady who was in the hospital with a child whose arm had been severed and who looked away, you know, in protest about the actions of government,” he said.

Dickson warned that the threat facing the country has evolved beyond local banditry. According to him, the attackers exhibit the coordination and firepower of trained foreign mercenaries.

He said, “These are not just criminals. These are mercenaries, commando units of foreign armies trained elsewhere. They are well equipped, well armed, well prepared tactically, and our system is completely unprepared for that.”

He added that the issue transcends administrations and reflects the failure of the Nigerian state to protect its citizens.

“We’re not talking about preventing. We’re talking about 200. Next time you will hear 300,” he warned.

The former governor called on the Federal Government to urgently formulate a comprehensive plan to protect lives, dismantle terror networks, and improve tactical readiness.

“I think the government is actually without a solution, as it is now. And I’m not talking of this government alone. The Nigerian state appears unprepared for this sort of violence people are unleashing on Nigerians,” Dickson said.

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