“Nigerians Are Dying, the President Is Nowhere to Be Found” – Atiku Blasts Tinubu Over Benue Killings

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu over his absence from the country amid a fresh wave of killings in Benue State. Atiku accused the president of neglecting his responsibilities while Nigerians continue to lose their lives to escalating violence.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Atiku decried the latest attacks in the Logo and Gbagir communities of Ukum Local Government Area, where at least 56 bodies were recovered following coordinated assaults by armed herdsmen. He lamented the routine bloodshed and the government’s inability to respond effectively to Nigeria’s deepening insecurity.

“The blood of innocent Nigerians continues to be spilled with appalling regularity—most recently in the Logo and Gbagir communities of Ukum LGA in Benue State,” Atiku stated. “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.”

Drawing comparisons to global leaders like former U.S. President Barack Obama, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, and Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan—who have all interrupted foreign engagements to address domestic crises—Atiku said Tinubu’s absence sends a troubling message. “Nigerians are dying. The president is nowhere to be found,” he said.

He described the Tinubu administration as “utterly incapable, wholly incompetent, and completely devoid of any coherent ideas for tackling Nigeria’s deepening security crisis.” He added, “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.”

Offering condolences to the people and government of Benue State, Atiku reiterated his concern over the leadership vacuum and condemned the federal government’s response as inadequate.

President Tinubu, who is currently in France, has defended his time abroad through a statement by his spokesperson Bayo Onanuga. The presidency insisted that Tinubu continues to “oversee critical national issues” remotely and assured citizens that governance remains uninterrupted. While in France, Tinubu met with U.S. State Department Senior Advisor Massad Boulos, remotely inaugurated the national census committee, and condemned the deadly attacks in Plateau State that claimed nearly 100 lives.