Former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, has raised fresh concerns over the worsening security situation in Nigeria, describing recent killings and abductions across several states as a reflection of deep leadership failure.
In a statement posted on Tuesday, April 28, via his official X handle, Obi painted a grim picture of the country’s security landscape, warning that the scale of violence recorded within 48 hours signals a dangerous trend.
“A decaying Nation Crying for Leadership,” he titled the statement.
He continued, “What we have witnessed across our country in just the past 48 hours is not only tragic, it is utterly unacceptable and a damning indictment of our collective failure of leadership.”
Highlighting incidents across multiple states, Obi cited killings and abductions in Katsina, Adamawa, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, and Kogi, stressing that the human cost goes beyond numbers.
“From the reported killings in Katsina, Adamawa, Kaduna and Benue States, to the gruesome murder of an entire family in Plateau State, and the heartbreaking abduction of innocent children in Kogi State, one of the incidents involves children conveying their mother’s dead body for burial. Nigeria is bleeding,” he stated.
Providing further details, he said, “11 innocent Nigerians were killed in Katsina State. 7 more in Benue State. 23 in Adamawa State in just one day. An entire family was brutally murdered in Plateau State.
24 children were abducted from an orphanage in Kogi State, and 10 more children were taken in Kaduna State, all within 48 hours.”
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Obi emphasised that the victims represent real lives lost, not mere figures.
“These are not mere statistics; they are our fellow Nigerians, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, whose lives have been brutally cut short or violently disrupted,” he said.
He warned that continued insecurity poses a major threat to national development, questioning the effectiveness of leadership in addressing the crisis.
“This cannot continue. A nation cannot develop under the weight of such persistent insecurity and human tragedy. The normalisation of these horrors is itself a crisis. We must ask, with all sense of urgency and responsibility: where is the leadership?” he added.
Expressing sympathy, Obi said, “My heart goes out to all the grieving families across these states. I pray for divine comfort for those who have lost loved ones and for the safe and immediate return of all abducted children.”
He concluded by reiterating his call for reform, stating, “A New Nigeria is not just a slogan; it has become an urgent necessity. A New Nigeria is Possible.”