‘Nigeria unprepared for foreign-backed attacks’ — Seriake Dickson speaks on Benue killings

Seriake Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa west, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for visiting Benue five days after over 200 people were killed on June 14.

Dickson said Tinubu should have visited the state earlier to demonstrate leadership and empathy, following the brutal attacks by suspected herdsmen in Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma LGA.

Tinubu visited Makurdi on Wednesday, where he met with Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, security chiefs, and traditional leaders, promising to work with the state to restore peace and end violence.

But speaking during an interview on Arise News Thursday morning, Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa, said the president’s trip fell short of expectations and failed to reflect the scale of the tragedy.

“While it’s commendable that President Tinubu visited Benue state, albeit he could have gone earlier than he did. The decisions taken and declarations made were not as forceful as some would have wanted,” he said.

He criticised the characterisation of the killings as “communal disputes”, insisting that what has been happening in Benue and other states like Plateau goes beyond local grievances and represents a “systematic campaign of terror”.

“What has been going on in Benue, Plateau, and in some other places is actually a collective assault. It’s an assault on the collective psyche of Nigerians and as human beings,” the lawmaker said.

“For example, the way some of us look at this is that what has been going on there is not an issue of reconciliation — it’s an issue of pure criminality that is almost at a genocidal level.

“And people talk about a certain route — there could be minor elements of that — but you can’t equate killing a cow with slaughtering hundreds of human beings.”

Referencing a viral image of a woman whose child’s arm had been severed during the attack, Dickson described the national response as insufficient and disconnected from the lived realities of affected communities.

“There’s one picture that is very poignant. I don’t know if you have seen it — the picture of the lady who was in the hospital with a child whose arm had been severed and who looked away, you know, in protest about the actions of the government,” he said.

“It’s good that officials of the government went, I mean, the security chiefs were there. I spoke with the governor myself, and I know that a lot of security people are there and things are happening. But are they far-reaching enough, clearly after the fact?”

According to Dickson, the problem is not limited to the current administration but reflects the Nigerian state’s broader inability to respond effectively to organised violence.

He warned that the scale and sophistication of the attackers point to something far more dangerous than local banditry.

“Look, I mean, we’re not talking about preventing. We’re talking about 200. Next time you will hear 300,” he said.

“I think the government is actually without a solution, as it is now. And I’m not talking of this government alone. The Nigerian state appears unprepared for this sort of violence people are unleashing on Nigerians.

“These are not just criminals. These are mercenaries, commando units of foreign armies trained elsewhere. They are well equipped, well armed, well prepared tactically, and our system is completely unprepared for that.”

Dickson said Nigeria needs a comprehensive plan to protect lives and dismantle the networks responsible for the killings.