HUMAN rights activist and lawyer Inibehe Effiong has berated Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia for declaring a public holiday to welcome President Bola Tinubu, who visits the state on Wednesday, June 18.
Tinubu is visiting the state to condole with hundreds of families who have lost loved ones to persistent attacks by gunmen within weeks under his watch and the state governor.
Alia declared the holiday in a statement signed by Secretary to the State Government, Deborah Aber, on Tuesday, June 17.
He encouraged the state residents to come out en masse to receive the president and his entourage.
“This is in honour of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who is scheduled for a one-day visit to the state.
“The visit is to commiserate with the government and people of the state over incessant security challenges,” the statement said.
Tinubu said on Monday that he would visit the state following pressure on him by Nigerians after last Friday’s attack in the Yelewata community that reportedly left over 200 residents dead.
Reacting to the public holiday declared by Alia for the president’s visit, Effiong wrote on his Facebook page: “The people of Benue State who are being slaughtered, have been told by their unserious governor to come out happily and colourfully and welcome the same President Tinubu who has failed to protect them. This is just inconceivable. We are not yet ready in this country.”
The ICIR reported that the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, had advised Tinubu to extend his visit to Mokwa, Niger State, where hundreds of people were killed in flooding recently.
Obi was among Nigerians who called out the president for not visiting Benue despite the magnitude of tragedies that have befallen the state from gunmen attacks.
In another development, Alia has rejected calls for self-defence in the face of increasing attacks on the state by gunmen.
The governor stressed that it is unwise for civilians to confront armed assailants, arguing that it would only worsen the crisis.
Alia said this while speaking on Focus Nigeria, a programme on African Independent Television (AIT), on Tuesday.
“You need to be trained to understand the dynamics of fighting guerrilla warfare. The Constitution permits all of us to defend ourselves, but to what extent?” he queried.
He endorsed community policing as a more strategic and sustainable solution to the crisis.
A reporter with the ICIR
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