As the death toll from the recent massacre in Benue State continues to haunt Nigeria’s conscience, the timing of responses from global and national leaders is drawing intense scrutiny—particularly President Bola Tinubu’s delayed reaction, which followed international attention, including a public statement and prayer from Pope Leo.
Pope Leo addressed the tragic events on Sunday during his Angelus prayer at the Vatican, offering heartfelt prayers for the estimated 200 victims of a brutal overnight attack in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area. The victims, many of whom were internally displaced persons (IDPs) taking refuge at a local Catholic mission, were reportedly killed with chilling cruelty on the night of June 13th into the early hours of June 14th.
“A terrible massacre occurred… Most of the victims were internally displaced persons hosted by the local Catholic mission,” the Pope said in a somber voice from St. Peter’s Square. “I pray that security, justice, and peace will prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country so affected by various forms of violence. And I pray in a special way for the rural Christian communities in Benue State, who have been unceasingly the victims of violence.”
The Pope’s prayer—deeply empathetic and sharply aware of Nigeria’s ongoing security struggles—came before any official word from the Nigerian presidency. It wasn’t until hours after the Vatican’s public acknowledgment that President Bola Tinubu addressed the massacre in a tweet, offering condolences and a general assurance of commitment to security.
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Many Nigerians on social media have questioned why the president appeared silent until the global spotlight turned on the country. Some have gone as far as suggesting that the administration only felt compelled to speak up after the incident drew international condemnation, rather than from a place of urgency or empathy for its own people.
“It’s telling that the Pope, thousands of miles away, recognized the suffering of our people before our own president did,” one X (formerly Twitter) user remarked.
The delayed response has added to a growing chorus of criticism about the federal government’s perceived sluggishness in addressing violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, particularly in predominantly Christian communities in Benue. These regions have repeatedly borne the brunt of attacks attributed to armed herders, bandits, and various non-state actors—violence that is often dismissed by officials as “communal clashes” despite evidence of organized brutality.
Security experts and human rights groups say the massacre underscores the ongoing failure to protect internally displaced persons and vulnerable rural populations, who often fall outside the margins of state attention and rapid military response.
While the federal government has yet to issue a detailed statement on how it intends to address the situation in Benue specifically, the optics of this delayed response are already fueling distrust. For the families of the slain, the lack of immediate national outrage feels like a silence too loud to ignore.
In contrast, Pope Leo’s acknowledgment—naming the victims, acknowledging their displacement, and praying for justice—has been described by many Nigerians as the kind of leadership that sees people not as political liabilities, but as lives worthy of dignity.
