Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for meeting victims of the Plateau State attacks at an airport instead of visiting the affected communities. Obi, in a post on X on Friday, said the approach showed a lack of compassion. He argued that true leadership requires physical presence during a crisis.
"For citizens who have just lost loved ones, homes, and their sense of safety, being addressed from an airport tarmac is profoundly inadequate," Obi said on X. He also recalled a similar visit by the president to Benue State in 2025 where he said Tinubu did not visit the attack scene. Obi said this pattern makes victims feel abandoned after repeated violence without justice. He called for urgent action to end insecurity.
The attack occurred on Palm Sunday in the Angwan Rukuba area of Jos North Local Government Area. Gunmen killed at least 28 people and injured many others. The state has a long history of communal and sectarian clashes tied to ethnic, religious, and land disputes.
The presidency defended Tinubu's decision. In a statement on Friday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga cited flight restrictions and logistical issues. He said the airport runway cannot support night flights because it lacks navigational aids. He noted the road from the airport to Jos township takes about 40 minutes. Given these limits, officials brought community representatives to a hall next to the airport for the president to meet them.
The statement also explained that Tinubu had a scheduled meeting with Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno on Thursday. That security meeting ran longer than expected, delaying his departure for Jos. The president had planned to travel to Iperu, Ogun State, but suspended that trip after a briefing from Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang.
At the airport meeting, Tinubu consoled victims and spoke with community leaders. The defence minister, army chief, and inspector-general of police were also present. The president addressed a grieving mother named Rhoda, whose video holding her dead son had gone viral.
Other opposition figures also criticized the visit. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, speaking through an aide, called the visit a “choreographed spectacle” that prioritized political optics over empathy. He said the president’s security assessment was superficial. He also accused the government of transporting grieving citizens to the airport for a staged meeting.
Some Nigerians on social media also expressed anger. A video from the meeting showed Tinubu telling victims: “You have no light at the airport, and I have to fly back within the next 10 minutes”. He promised the victims that such attacks would not happen again.