Remote Leadership: Tinubu Stays in Europe as Killings Continue in Benue and Plateau

President Bola Tinubu remains in Europe as armed violence continues to claim lives and displace communities across the country.

In a statement released on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu had left Paris for London over the weekend and continues overseeing national affairs abroad. He insisted that the president is “fully engaged” in governance from overseas.

The President’s absence remains temporary and in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks. He has given directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats in parts of the country, Onanuga stated.

The presidency added that Tinubu would return to Abuja and resume duties at Aso Villa after the Easter holiday.

His continued stay abroad has drawn widespread criticism, especially as attacks by terrorists and armed groups escalate across multiple states. In the last two weeks alone, over 150 people have been reported killed in violent incidents in Borno, Zamfara and Plateau States.

On Wednesday, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, criticised Tinubu for staying abroad while Nigeria “burns.” He said the president’s absence sends the wrong message at a time when national security is deteriorating.

In Benue State, local communities are grappling with yet another wave of sustained attacks by armed groups. Residents of several villages report that attackers operated freely for four consecutive days, killing many, abducting others, and forcing survivors to flee. A widely circulated photo showed the assailants sitting casually on motorcycles, unchallenged.

The violence in Benue is not new. However, the intensity and impunity have increased. Communities say they have received no meaningful response from the federal government despite repeated appeals for intervention.

Neighbouring Plateau State has also witnessed a string of deadly attacks, with at least 51 people recently confirmed dead. Armed men stormed several villages and left destruction in their wake. In Zamfara and Borno States, bandits and Boko Haram insurgents have carried out raids, adding to the rising death toll.

In Enugu State, particularly Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, at least 44 farm settlements, locally called ‘Ndiagu’, have been overrun by armed militias who pose as herdsmen. Villages such as Abor Ishala, Mgbuji, Agu-Amede, Eha-Agu and Umuhu have been emptied, with residents fleeing en masse. One of the most recent attacks occurred in Ndiagu Amofia village in Umuhu Eha-Amufu on 28 February, where families were forced to abandon their homes and farmland.

In Abor alone, nine farm settlements were reportedly sacked, including Ogomungo, Ngele-Akpankpa, Okwum, Agerie and Ezegwu-Abor. The pattern has been the same across Mgbuji, Agu-Amede and Eha-Agu: attackers arrive, displace locals, and settle in without resistance.

While the presidency insists that the machinery of governance is intact, families in Nigeria’s troubled regions are left with grief, displacement and fear – and a president thousands of miles away.

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