By Abiola Olawale
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, on Monday, launched a scathing critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, asserting that the current leadership has “no solution” to the escalating wave of killings, kidnappings, and terrorism across Nigeria.
In a series of pointed statements released on Monday, April 6, 2026, Obi described the nation as “bleeding” and accused the presidency of offering empty promises while citizens are slaughtered in their homes and on their farms.
Obi’s latest comments follow Tinubu’s April 2 visit to Plateau State. During a brief stop at the Jos airport, Tinubu assured grieving residents that the “experience will not repeat itself.”
However, Obi pointed out that less than 24 hours after that declaration, gunmen struck the Nyamgo Gyel community in Jos South LGA, leaving several dead.
He wrote, “Less than 24 hours after President Tinubu stood at the Jos Plateau State airport on April 2, 2026, and promised the grieving Nigerian citizens, ‘I promise you that this experience will not repeat itself,’ another brutal attack occurred in Nyamgo Gyel, Jos South LGA, resulting in the deaths of several innocent citizens.”
The former Anambra State governor also highlighted incidents in Nasarawa State, where communities were reportedly attacked, leading to deaths, displacement, and destruction of property.
“Since then, and only a week following that reassuring promise from the President, Nasarawa State has been plunged into grief as the Akyawa and Udege Kasa communities fled for their lives after gunmen killed at least 11 people. Many homes were reduced to ashes, and numerous families remain missing,” Obi stated.
He further pointed to mass abductions in Zamfara State and attacks in Borno State, including an incident in Chibok.
“In Zamfara State, 150 innocent Nigerians were abducted from the Kurfa Danya and Kurfan Magaji communities in one of the largest mass kidnappings in recent times. On the same day of the Zamfara kidnappings, terrorists in Borno State stormed Chibok, killing four officers and burning down homes,” he added.
Obi also raised concerns over violence in Benue and Kaduna states, alleging that several people were killed and others abducted in separate incidents.
“Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, Benue State was rocked by violence again, with over 17 Nigerians massacred, entire communities left in ruins, and many individuals still unaccounted for. Today, in Kaduna State, several innocent citizens were killed by terrorists inside churches, with many others abducted in the Ariko community of Kachia LGA,” he said.
Questioning the effectiveness of the government’s response, Obi said, “Yet we were told, ‘This experience will not repeat itself.’ This represents a failure of leadership and responsibility, and sadly, Nigerians are paying for it with their lives.”
The former presidential candidate stressed that protecting lives and property remains the primary responsibility of the government.
“These attackers are not ghostly figures; our inaction emboldens them. How can a President make such a categorical promise and, mere hours later, the nation continues to count the dead across multiple states?
“The primary responsibility of any government is to protect lives and property; Nigerians are being slaughtered in their homes, in their communities, and in the very places they should feel safest. Even the President did not enter these communities, so who is truly safe in Nigeria?” he queried.
Describing the situation as urgent, Obi added, “This is a national emergency. Nigeria is bleeding, and the situation is worsening and increasingly helpless.”
