Benue Killings: ‘We Can’t Pay More for Fuel, Still Pay With Our Lives’ — Atiku Blasts Tinubu

Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over the worsening insecurity in Benue State, saying Nigerians should not be made to bear the burden of economic reforms while losing their lives to violence.

Atiku spoke on Monday when he received ADC candidates contesting various elective positions in Benue State. He described the insecurity in the state as a major threat to food production and a key contributor to Nigeria’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Describing Benue as the “Food Basket of the Nation”, Atiku cited an Amnesty International report which he said recorded 6,896 deaths in the state during the first two years of the Tinubu administration.

“Benue is the Food Basket of the Nation. Today, that basket is bleeding,” Atiku said.

He said the victims were largely farmers and residents whose livelihoods and communities had been devastated by persistent attacks.

“Behind that figure are farmers who never returned from their farms, families driven from their ancestral homes, and communities emptied by fear,” he said.

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Atiku argued that the insecurity in Benue was having consequences far beyond the affected communities, particularly as farmers forced off their land could no longer produce enough food.

“When Benue cannot farm, Nigeria cannot eat cheaply. Every farmer forced off the land eventually shows up in the price of yam, rice, beans, vegetables and meat in the market,” he said.

According to him, insecurity has evolved from a security challenge into an additional economic burden on households already struggling with rising prices.

“Insecurity is not only a security crisis; it is now a cost-of-living tax on every Nigerian family,” he said.

The former vice-president also linked the situation to the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigerians accepted the resulting increase in fuel prices on the understanding that the savings would be redirected towards development, including improved security.

Atiku, who said he is also a farmer, noted that his own farms had been affected by theft and disruption, giving him first-hand knowledge of how insecurity affects agricultural production and food prices.

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“My farms have suffered from theft and disruption. I therefore understand, from personal experience, what insecurity does to production, livelihoods and ultimately the price of food in the market,” he said.

He questioned the security outcomes of the government despite what he described as substantial resources available to the administration.

“So Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: Where is the security? Where are the results?” Atiku asked.

He added: “If Nigerians must pay more for fuel so government can have more resources, and enormous concessions are being approved in the name of national priorities, then Nigerians should not also be paying with their lives.”

Atiku said the Benue crisis could be addressed through a combination of effective security operations, dialogue and protection of livelihoods.

Recalling his previous involvement in peace efforts between Tiv and Fulani communities, he stressed that criminality should not be associated with ethnicity.

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“I know this crisis is solvable. I have helped broker peace between Tiv and Fulani communities before, and I remain convinced that criminality has no tribe. A killer is a killer. A thief is a thief,” he said.

He called for criminals to be brought to justice while farmers and livestock owners are adequately protected to restore peaceful coexistence.

Atiku further urged the ADC candidates to view their political mission as extending beyond winning elections, saying they must focus on tackling the state’s security and economic challenges.

“Their mission must be greater than winning elections. It must be about protecting lives, restoring livelihoods, reviving the Food Basket of the Nation, and making life affordable again,” he said.