BY VICTOR BUORO – Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 general elections and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi has warned that Nigeria risks turning into a permanent killing field if the government fails to take actions aimed at halting the wave of killings, abductions and destruction of communities across the country.
He said the government cannot continue to remain nonchalant and demonstrate helplessness as violent crime surges nationwide, demanding urgent state action to protect citizens and secure the country’s collapsing security landscape.
In a statement posted on his X handle Sunday, Obi said recent deadly attacks in Benue, Plateau and Niger states had highlighted the worsening security situation in the country and described the three states, located in Nigeria’s North-Central region, as the latest areas to suffer attacks that have claimed scores of lives and displaced residents.
Obi, who was the Labour Party (LP) flag-bearer in the 2023 presidential polls, condemned the deadly attack in Jwak Maitumbi, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, where reports indicated that at least 23 people were officially confirmed killed, while residents put the death toll at more than 30 and over 45 houses reportedly destroyed.
The former governor, while also referring to recent attacks in Borgu, Niger State, where more than 40 people were reportedly killed with an unconfirmed figure of over 100 others abducted, said the country cannot survive another step down this lethal and destructive path.
He said equally troubling is the unfortunate developments in Benue State where communities are daily exposed torepeated attacks, killings, abductions and destruction of homes and livelihoods, adding: “What is happening in Benue, Plateau and Niger is similar to what is happening elsewhere in the country, with some attacks even going unreported”.
Insisting that the recurring attacks should no longer be viewed as separate incidents but as a broader national security crisis requiring a coordinated response, the NDC Standard bearer said: “Nigeria is not officially at war, yet citizens are being attacked in their villages, abducted after prayers, driven from their homes and stripped of their farms.”
While tasking the federal, state and local governments to take immediate measures to protect vulnerable communities and prevent further attacks, Obi demanded improved intelligence gathering and rapid-response capabilities, as well as intensified efforts to rescue abducted Nigerians and apprehend those responsible for the violence.
“I urge governments at all levels to wake up to their responsibility and take urgent and decisive action to end this madness once and for all,” he said, stressing the need for government to focus on preventing attacks rather than merely responding after lives had been lost.
“We cannot keep counting bodies after every attack. We must prevent these attacks before they happen. Obi cautioned, stressing that, “Protecting lives and property is the most basic duty of government. Nigerians deserve nothing less.”
In a sobering final warning, the former Anambra State governor implored the nation to reject complacency in the face of escalating violence, declaring: “Nigeria must not become a killing field.”
