Dare Babalola
Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has accused the Federal Government of failing to decisively confront Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
He warned that continued inaction is emboldening perpetrators of violence across the country.
In a statement shared on X on Monday, Obi said recent attacks in several states starkly contradict assurances by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that such incidents would not recur, stressing that the inability to match words with action is costing innocent lives.
He recalled the President’s visit to Plateau State on April 2, 2026, where he addressed grieving residents and pledged an end to recurring violence.
“Less than 24 hours after President Tinubu stood at the Jos Plateau State airport on April 2, 2026, and promised the grieving Nigerian citizens, ‘I promise you that this experience will not repeat itself,’ another brutal attack occurred in Nyamgo Gyel, Jos South LGA, resulting in the deaths of several innocent citizens,” Obi stated.
The former governor noted that the violence has since escalated across multiple regions, leaving communities devastated and many families displaced.
“Since then, and only a week following that reassuring promise from the President, Nasarawa State has been plunged into grief as the Akyawa and Udege Kasa communities fled for their lives after gunmen killed at least 11 people. Many homes were reduced to ashes, and numerous families remain missing,” he said.
Highlighting the scale of insecurity in the North-West and North-East, Obi pointed to a wave of mass abductions and coordinated attacks by armed groups.
“In Zamfara State, 150 innocent Nigerians were abducted from the Kurfa Danya and Kurfan Magaji communities in one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent times. On the same day of the Zamfara kidnappings, terrorists in Borno State stormed Chibok, killing four officers and burning down homes,” he added.
He further decried renewed violence in Benue and Kaduna states, particularly during the Easter period.
“Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, Benue State was rocked by violence again, with over 17 Nigerians massacred, entire communities left in ruins, and many individuals still unaccounted for. Today, in Kaduna State, several innocent citizens were killed by terrorists inside churches, with many others abducted in the Ariko community of Kachia LGA,” Obi said.
Obi argued that the persistence and spread of such attacks point to a dangerous pattern in which perpetrators are increasingly emboldened by the government’s failure to respond effectively.
“These attackers are not ghostly figures; our inaction emboldens them,” he said. “How can a President make such a categorical promise and, mere hours later, the nation continues to count the dead across multiple states?”
He stressed that the primary duty of government—protection of lives and property—is being undermined, leaving citizens vulnerable even in places once considered safe.
“The primary responsibility of any government is to protect lives and property; however, this responsibility is failing today. Nigerians are being slaughtered in their homes, in their communities, and in the very places they should feel safest,” Obi stated.
Describing the situation as dire, the former presidential candidate warned that Nigeria is facing a deepening national crisis that requires urgent and decisive leadership.
“This is a national emergency. Nigeria is bleeding, and the situation is worsening and increasingly helpless,” he said.
Obi concluded by urging immediate action to stem the tide of violence, while reaffirming his belief in the country’s potential for change.
