Peter Obi to FG: Declare national war on insecurity

Peter Obi, Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate, has called on federal government to declare a national war on insecurity due to the scale of killings across the country.

Obi, writing on X after reports of more than 100 deaths in coordinated attacks across Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, and Edo over the weekend, described the incidents as evidence of a full-blown security emergency.

“Bloody weekend: over 100 killed in Borno, Sokoto, Katsina, Edo. This grim headline captures the frightening reality reflected in our weekend papers.

“The killing of eight NSCDC officers, the abduction of a Chinese national in Edo, the kidnapping of passengers on the Benin–Iyere–Oluku road.

“The slaughter of five soldiers and 58 civilians in Borno are not isolated tragedies. They are stark evidence that Nigeria is in the grip of a full-blown security emergency,” Obi said.

According to him, when more than 100 Nigerians die in a single weekend, it means our casualty figures are not different from countries officially at war, which is no longer business as usual.

Obi extended condolences to the families of the victims, stressing that those responsible must be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.

He insisted that the government must suspend all distractions and direct every resource toward ending the crisis.

“It is time to declare a national war on insecurity — to mobilise every resource, every agency, every state, and to suspend all distractions while we begin the process of reclaiming our nation from lawlessness,” he added.

He also urged officials to suspend foreign trips until the killings are contained. This is in relation to President Tinubu’s recent work vacation to Europe.

“True leadership must be seen at home, personally coordinating the war against insecurity. Junketing around the world under the pretence of wooing investors, while the country bleeds, is to live in denial. Investors will not come into a war zone.”

“We must act now, with urgency and courage, to prevent a total descent into anarchy and rebuild Nigeria into a safe, secure, and productive nation for all,” he concluded.

Obi warned that unchecked insecurity is the fastest route to national collapse, citing Somalia and Libya as cautionary examples.