Human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has condemned the Nigerian government’s attempts to downplay widespread killings across the country, describing the ongoing violence as genocide rather than the commonly used term “farmer-herder clashes.”
Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy on Friday, Farotimi criticized officials for misrepresenting the reality on the ground, accusing them of concealing the truth under misleading labels.
He said:
“You are calling genocide farmers-herders clash—what nonsense. How can a farmer who owns nothing be clashing with somebody carrying a Kalashnikov and M-16 rifles? And they are calling it a farmers-herders clash. You even find government persons peddling that idiocy.”
Farotimi stressed that despite external attention, including comments from former United States President Donald Trump, the government continues to focus on semantics rather than accountability for the killings.
“Now someone outside is telling them the truth; the truth is not devalued in the tongue of a liar. People are being buried in mass graves, and we are still quarrelling over what name Donald Trump called it. I don’t need Trump to tell me what I have seen and heard. I have been using the word genocide to describe what is happening in Nigeria for close to 10 years,” Farotimi said.
He further accused elements within the government of complicity, asserting that officials are aware of the violence but choose to remain silent:
“They don’t need Trump to tell them what is happening in their country; they are complicit in what is happening. These are persons exercising the powers of impunity extended by the Nigerian state and the assurance that nothing will happen, so they can do as they please.”
Farotimi’s remarks add to growing calls from local and international observers for the Nigerian government to confront escalating violence and ensure protection for vulnerable communities.