Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on the Federal Government and other levels of government to urgently tackle the worsening wave of killings, kidnappings and destruction of communities across the country.
Obi, in a statement posted on X on Sunday, said recent attacks in Benue, Plateau and Niger states had exposed the alarming state of insecurity in the country.
He said the North-Central states had become the latest victims of violence that had left scores dead, communities destroyed and residents displaced.
Obi cited the attack on Jwak Maitumbi in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, where at least 23 people were officially reported killed, while local accounts reportedly put the death toll above 30.
He added that more than 45 houses were also reportedly destroyed during the attack.
The former governor also raised concerns over recent violence in Borgu, Niger State, where reports indicated that more than 40 people were killed and over 100 abducted, although he acknowledged that the figures had yet to be conclusively established.
According to Obi, Benue State has equally continued to experience repeated attacks, killings and abductions, with residents losing homes, farms and other means of livelihood.
He said the incidents should no longer be treated as isolated occurrences but as evidence of a wider national security crisis requiring a coordinated and decisive response.
“What is happening in Benue, Plateau and Niger is similar to what is happening elsewhere in the country, with some attacks even going unreported,” Obi said.
He added, “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.”
Obi urged the Federal, state and local governments to intensify intelligence gathering, strengthen rapid-response mechanisms and improve efforts to rescue abducted Nigerians.
He also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the attacks.
The former presidential candidate warned that government must shift from reacting to attacks after lives had been lost to preventing them before they occur.
“We cannot keep counting bodies after every attack. We must prevent these attacks before they happen,” he said.
Obi stressed that the protection of lives and property remained the primary responsibility of government, adding that Nigerians deserved to live without fear.
He concluded with a warning against normalising the persistent violence, saying, “Nigeria must not become a killing field.”
