Plateau: Even countries at war not experiencing level of killings in Nigeria, Peter Obi laments

Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Photograph: Arise TV
As of Tuesday, the number of casualties has increased to 162 as more bodies were recovered.

The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has lamented the spate of killings across Nigeria, saying even countries at war do not experience the level of insecurity recorded nationwide.

Mr Obi, who in a statement on his X account on Tuesday disclosed that he visited the Oba community in Anambra State over the “horrific killing of people in a nightclub,” described Christmas Eve attacks on villages in Plateau as a “mindless act of terrorism.”

“Even some countries in open declared wars have not experienced this level of insecurity, violence and loss of human lives,” said Mr Obi. “Let us continue to pray for our nation that God will heal our land.”

The former Anambra governor lauded security agencies managing insecurity across the country while condoling with families who lost loved ones in the attacks.

On Monday, The Telegraph reported that over 112 were killed and 47 were injured after armed herdsmen in coordinated attacks on at least 12 communities spanning Barkin Ladi and Bokkos council areas on Christmas Eve.

As of Tuesday, the number of casualties has increased to 162 as more bodies were recovered.

Since Monday, Plateau Christmas Eve attacks have dominated discussions among Nigerians on social media, with many lamenting insecurity in the country.

Amid growing public outcry on Christmas Eve attacks in Plateau State, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday condemned the attack, vowing that its perpetrators will not escape justice.

Mr Tinubu “directed security agencies to immediately move in, scour every stretch of the zone, and apprehend the culprits, ordering “immediate mobilisation of relief resources for surviving victims of the primitive and cruel attacks as well as medical treatment for the wounded.”

However, human rights organisation Amnesty International, on Monday evening, condemned the attacks on Plateau State, berating Mr Tinubu for brazenly failing to protect communities in the state and Nigeria at large.