2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has lamented on the “weak and muted response” from the government following “continued senseless killings that have gripped parts of Taraba, Benue, and Kogi States in recent times”, which he described as “heartbreaking”.
The former Governor of Anambra State said, recently, families have been wiped out following “a wave of violence” which devastated communities across Taraba, Benue, and Kogi. He added children and women were among the victims of these killings.
He said, despite “staggering bloodshed, response remains weak and muted”, as he talked against “normalizing the unacceptable” which are “mass killings, displacement, and the collapse of law and order”.
Obi said: “The news of the continued senseless killings that have gripped parts of Taraba, Benue, and Kogi States in recent times is heartbreaking. What we are witnessing is not merely violence. It is a failure of leadership and a gaping wound in the soul of our nation.
“In recent months, a wave of violence has devastated communities across Taraba, Benue, and Kogi, claiming countless lives and wiping out families. Among the victims are children, women, and even men of faith, casualties of a prolonged crisis that shows no sign of abating. The bloodshed is staggering, yet the response remains weak and muted. As homes are destroyed and communities torn apart, we risk normalizing the unacceptable: mass killings, displacement, and the collapse of law and order. These are not mere statistics, they are our fellow Nigerians. Each life lost is a tragedy that must not be ignored.”
On the “protection of life and property”, Obi said, that remains the “primary duty of the national government”, adding, Nigeria needs to launch “urgent action” and stop the “rhetoric”.
Obi further said: “I have always maintained that the primary duty of the National government is the protection of life and property. When this duty is repeatedly ignored when innocent citizens are butchered and nothing changes, we must ask ourselves: What kind of nation are we building? What future are we promising our children?
“I mourn with the good people of Taraba, Benue, and Kogi. I share their grief, and I feel their pain. But I also raise my voice because silence in the face of such horror is complicity. We need urgent action, not rhetoric. We need justice, not excuses. We as leaders must value human life and will defend it with everything we have.
“Nigeria can not continue like this. This is not the Nigeria we deserve. We must end this bloodshed. We must reclaim our humanity.
“A new Nigeria is POssible!”
