By Ammar M. Rajab A firestorm of outrage swept across Nigeria this week following an unprecedented wave of violence that claimed over 100 l...
A firestorm of outrage swept across Nigeria this week following an unprecedented wave of violence that claimed over 100 lives across Borno, Katsina, Edo, and Sokoto states — prompting national uproar and scathing criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's handling of the country’s security crisis.
In what many are now calling a “weekend
of carnage,” Boko Haram insurgents massacred civilians and soldiers in
Borno, gunmen murdered eight civil defence officers in Edo, and over 130 people
were abducted in Katsina. These horrors, unfolding within a single weekend,
have sparked calls for a total overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture.
Northern
Forum Drops Bombshell
In a rare show of consensus, the Northern
Ethnic Nationalities Forum on Sunday issued a bombshell communiqué
demanding the immediate sack of all service chiefs, a state of
emergency on security, and a complete reset of Nigeria’s anti-terror
strategy.
“Kidnapping for ransom has become a
booming industry. Farmers can't access their lands. Highways are death traps.
The North is under siege,” said Dr. Dominic Alancha, convener of the Forum.
The coalition, comprising leaders
from across the North, accused the Tinubu administration of “failing to
protect Nigerians” and warned that continued inaction would plunge the
region—and the country—into ungovernable chaos.
Obi:
‘Nigeria Now Mirrors War-Torn Nations’
2023 presidential candidate Peter
Obi compared Nigeria’s situation to war-ravaged nations like Somalia and
Libya, warning that “this is no longer business as usual.”
“When 100 people are slaughtered in
one weekend, Nigeria’s casualty figures rival those of countries officially at
war. Our nation is bleeding, and Abuja is in denial,” Obi wrote on X.
He called for the immediate
suspension of all non-essential foreign trips by public officials and
demanded a national war on insecurity, suggesting that no investor
would dare come to a country under siege.
Atiku:
Time To Unite Or Perish
Former Vice President Atiku
Abubakar condemned the latest Borno massacre and called for national
unity and community-based security. He described the Darajamal attack as a “painful
reminder of the heavy price Nigerians continue to pay.”
“Our soldiers and civilians are
dying. We must rise together, or we risk losing everything,” Atiku warned.
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