Benue killings: ART accuses President Tinubu of false equivalence, urges immediate military intervention

Stanley Ihedigbo

Apostolic Round Table (ART) has expressed deep dismay and utter disappointment at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent statement regarding the escalating massacres in Benue State.

While acknowledging the President’s public attention to the crisis, ART rejects the framing of the crisis as a communal conflict, describing it instead as genocide perpetrated by well-armed terrorists against indigenous peoples.

According to the Convener, Apostolic Round Table, Apostle (Dr.) Bolaji O. Akinyemi, the organization criticizes President Tinubu’s directive to security agencies to “arrest perpetrators on all sides,” arguing that this approach equates invaders with victims and emboldens those who thrive on impunity and bloodshed.

ART demanded immediate military intervention in all affected Benue communities, public identification and prosecution of known perpetrators and their sponsors, a national security address from the President, and a halt to further gaslighting and false equivalence in government statements.

“President Tinubu has condemned the killings, describing them as “senseless bloodletting” and “inhuman and anti-progress.” He has directed security agencies to take decisive action and tasked Governor Hyacinth Alia with convening reconciliation meetings to foster dialogue between farmers, herders, and communities”, he noted .

ART emphasized that Benue needs protection, not sympathy or another committee.

The organization warned that if the government continues to treat mass murder with press releases instead of action, it will mobilize a nationwide prophetic and civic movement to demand accountability.