The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter
Obi, has called on the Federal Government to declare a “national war” on
insecurity following a deadly weekend of violence that left more than 100
people dead across several states.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Obi
described the killings in Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, and Edo States as evidence
that Nigeria is now facing a “full-blown security emergency.”
“When over 100 Nigerians are killed in a single
weekend, our casualty figures rival those of countries officially at war. This
is no longer business as usual,” Obi said. “It is time to declare a national
war on insecurity — to mobilise every resource, every agency, every state, and
to suspend all distractions.”
The weekend of bloodshed saw the killing of eight
NSCDC officers, the abduction of a Chinese national in Edo, the kidnapping of
passengers along the Benin–Iyere–Oluku road, and the slaughter of five soldiers
and 58 civilians in Borno State.
Obi condoled the families of the slain security
personnel, calling them “fallen heroes” whose sacrifices must never be
forgotten. He urged swift justice for their killers and stressed that government
officials should suspend foreign trips until the crisis is under control.
He also criticised what he termed “junketing around
the world under the pretence of wooing investors,” warning that no investor
will put money into a country “that looks like a war zone.”
“No nation can prosper while its citizens live under
siege. History shows that insecurity is the quickest path to national collapse
— Somalia and Libya stand as painful warnings,” he added.
Obi concluded with a call for urgent and courageous
action to prevent Nigeria’s descent into anarchy, stressing the need to rebuild
the nation into “a safe, secure, and productive country for all.”
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