Benue crises solvable — Atiku

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said the killings and displacement in Benue State are not beyond solution, insisting that criminality has no tribe and that urgent action is needed to restore the state as “the Food Basket of the Nation.”

In a post on his social media pages on Monday, Atiku cited Amnesty International’s report that 6,896 people were killed in Benue alone in the first two years of the Tinubu administration.

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

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

The ADC candidate linked the violence to rising food prices nationwide, arguing that insecurity has become an additional burden on Nigerian households.

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

Atiku said he speaks from personal experience as a farmer whose farms have also suffered theft and disruption.

“I speak about this not only as a former Vice President, but as a farmer who has felt the consequences of insecurity. I therefore understand, from personal experience, what insecurity does to production, livelihoods and ultimately the price of food in the market,” he stated.

He faulted the Tinubu administration for failing to translate increased government revenue into security, despite the removal of the fuel subsidy and huge import-duty waivers.

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“Nigerians were told that removing fuel subsidy would free enormous resources for development and security. Yet, in 2025 alone, the Nigeria Customs Service disclosed about ₦34 trillion in import-duty exemption approvals, with a substantial portion reportedly linked to military hardware,” Atiku said.

“So Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: Where is the security? Where are the results? If Nigerians must pay more for fuel so government can have more resources, and enormous concession are being approved in the name of national priorities, then Nigerians should not also be paying with their lives.”

Atiku said he remains convinced that the crisis can be resolved through justice and deliberate peace-building.

“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. We must punish criminals, protect farmers, secure livestock owners, and restore peaceful coexistence,” he said.

The former Vice President said he met with ADC candidates for various elective positions in Benue State and charged them to prioritise the lives and livelihoods of the people above politics.

“It was with this conviction that I received our ADC candidates for various elective positions in Benue State. 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.

He said: “Tinubu removed the subsidy. Nigerians paid the price. Government got the resources. Benue should not still be paying with blood. Secure Benue. Restore the Food Basket. Make Nigeria affordable again.”