The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has said President Bola Tinubu remains a detribalised leader who is committed to finding lasting solutions to the security crisis in Benue State, rather than taking sides along ethnic lines.
Speaking on a television programme on Friday, Basiru stated that Tinubu’s approach to the prolonged violence in the state is one of statesmanship and national responsibility.
“As a statesman, you don’t expect the president to be taking sides with anybody in the conflict,” he said. “He is supposed to have a dispassionate consideration of the issue and then be able to charge the various state actors to address the various challenges.”
President Tinubu’s visit to Makurdi on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, has drawn a mix of praise and criticism. However, Basiru emphasized that the visit was a platform for dialogue and reflection, especially as the President allowed the Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, to present the views of the Benue people.
“The fact that the president gave opportunity to Tor Tiv to give the address… validates the fact that a platform was created by the visit of the president to have different perspectives to what is happening in Benue State,” Basiru said.
Rejecting claims that the president was pandering to any ethnic bloc, Basiru reaffirmed Tinubu’s neutrality and national outlook: “The president is a Nigerian; he is a detribalised Nigerian. He came on the spot in Makurdi to address the concerns about the lives and property of the Nigerian people. In his preference, the lives of the people are more precious than the issue of property which cows signify.”
Benue State has witnessed recurrent attacks by suspected herdsmen, with over 160 people killed in the last two months. The most recent attack in the Yelewata area left at least 59 officially confirmed dead, although civil groups claim the toll is closer to 200. Thousands have been displaced in what the Tor Tiv described as a “calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits.”
The killings have drawn condemnation from across the country and globally, including from Pope Leo XIV, who decried the “terrible massacre” and called for urgent action.
During his visit, President Tinubu directed security chiefs to take immediate steps to end the violence and bring perpetrators to justice.
