Human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi on Thursday stated that it would have been better if President Tinubu had not visited Benue State than to visit the state and remain unfeeling towards the plight of its people.

Farotimi who made the remark in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief program said the only person who said anything of note during the president’s visit on Wednesday, was the Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, who described the attacks as a full-scale genocidal invasion by herder terrorists and bandits.

Farotimi criticised the red-carpet reception the President got in Benue, a state that should be mourning the killing of scores of persons.

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“I must say very quickly that it would have been better if the president didn’t go,”

“The only thing worthy of anybody’s time was the words of the Tor Tiv, who spoke extensively to the reality of the situation in the Benue trough and spoke eloquently to the pains of the victims.

“Other than that, all the president had to offer were mere windows into his preoccupation and what truly concerns his aides and assistants.

“In Benue, they knew exactly what was of importance to the president, so they ensured that they put up the necessary theatre for 2027.

“The death of over 200 people did not count much; they were mentioned only in passing, and you would have been excused that it was a political event.

“The primary reason the state exists is to protect the lives and property of the citizens. We’ve almost lost our capacity to be shocked. 200 human beings were murdered, and the President went to Benue and was talking as if he were preparing for a campaign rally.

“It was more or less that they went to dance on the graves of some of whom may not even be identified. Let the state begin to protect the lives and property of the citizens.”