Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called for urgent national mobilisation against what he described as Nigeria’s deepening security crisis, following a violent weekend that claimed more than 100 lives across different states.
In a post on his X handle on Sunday, Obi condemned the killings of eight officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the abduction of a Chinese national in Edo State, the kidnapping of passengers along the Benin–Iyere–Oluku road, as well as the brutal murder of five soldiers and 58 civilians in Borno State.
He warned that these tragedies were not isolated events but clear signs that Nigeria was already trapped in a full-scale security emergency.
“My deepest condolences go to the families of our fallen heroes. Their bravery is a reminder that we still have men and women ready to sacrifice everything for our safety. Their killers must be hunted down and made to face justice. Their sacrifices must never be forgotten,” Obi said.
The former Anambra governor stressed that the killing of over 100 Nigerians in a single weekend puts the nation’s death toll on par with countries officially at war. He said the time had come for the Federal Government to declare a decisive war on insecurity.
Obi urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend all distractions, including overseas trips by top officials, and take full charge of efforts to restore peace and security.
“Real leadership must be visible at home, directly coordinating the fight against insecurity. Junketing around the world in the name of wooing investors, while the country bleeds, is living in denial. No investor will put money in a war zone,” he warned.
He further cautioned that no nation can grow or prosper when its citizens live under siege, adding that history shows insecurity is often the quickest route to national collapse. He cited Somalia and Libya as painful examples.
Obi called for urgent, coordinated, and courageous action to halt Nigeria’s slide towards anarchy and to begin rebuilding the country into a safe, stable, and productive nation.
