“They are Covering Up Massacres” — US Missionary Blasts Tinubu Government Over Fulani Militia Attacks in Benue

WASHINGTON D.C. / MAKURDI — In a blistering “breaking bombshell” interview that has sent ripples from the United States to Nigeria’s seat of power, an American missionary has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led administration of deliberately covering up a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Middle Belt.

Alex Barbir, a US humanitarian who recently returned to America after rebuilding destroyed homes in the Yelewata community of Benue State, took to CBN News to “blow hot” on the ongoing violence. His testimony provides a rare, unfiltered look at the devastation in rural Nigeria through the eyes of a foreign witness.

The “Fulani Terrorist” Allegation

Speaking with a raw intensity that has since gone viral, Barbir was categorical about the identity of the attackers terrorising Benue’s farming communities.

“It’s Fulani terrorists—the militia from the Fulani people—that are going around killing and massacring, burning and kidnapping people,” Barbir declared. He dismissed the official “farmer-herder clash” narrative as a sanitised version of a much grimmer reality. “We need to deal with them… The Nigerian government is not doing anything to stop them; they are trying to cover it up.”

Rebuilding Against the Odds

Barbir’s organization, Building Zion, has been on the ground in Guma Local Government Area, physically reconstructing houses for survivors of massacres. His frustration with the Tinubu administration stems from what he describes as a lack of political will to protect these vulnerable citizens.

Key highlights from his “Bombshell” interview include:

• The Complicity Charge: Barbir alleged that the state apparatus is silent while Christian communities are systematically wiped out.
• A “1 Billion Naira” Discrepancy: He challenged the government’s inflated reconstruction costs, claiming he could build 3,000 homes for the same amount the government budgets for just 66.
• A Personal Warning: Barbir stated he would hold the Nigerian government personally liable if the newly rebuilt Yelewata community is attacked again.

Pressure on the Presidency

The missionary’s comments add significant international pressure on President Tinubu, who has consistently promised to “re-engineer” Nigeria’s security architecture. Barbir’s plea was direct: “If the US truly cares about Nigerian Christians, it should act,” calling for American intelligence to intervene where he believes the Nigerian state has failed or folded its arms.

As of Friday, February 13, the Presidency has yet to issue a formal rebuttal to Barbir’s specific claims, but the video continues to gain massive traction among the Nigerian diaspora and international human rights groups.