Peter Obi laments rising terrorist attacks across Nigeria, asks Tinubu’s govt to focus on poverty alleviation

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has decried the daily terrorists’ attacks across Nigeria, particularly the recent killing of no fewer than 50 people in Benue State and the abduction of over 100 internally displaced persons in Borno State.

Recall that the Senator representing Benue North-East Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Emmanuel Udende, on Wednesday said that suspected gunmen have killed about 50 people in some communities under his senatorial district.

Udende, while speaking on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday had said that the gunmen “parading as herders” attacked some communities in Logo and Katsina-Ala local government areas of the state.

It was earlier reported that suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked and kidnapped over 100 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria.

It was gathered that the IDPs including women, boys and girls were kidnapped in Gamboru Ngala, near the Nigerian border with the Republic of Chad while they were fetching firewood in a bush on Sunday.

Also, over 200 schoolchildren and some of their teachers were abducted in the early hours of Thursday while conducting morning assembly.

Reacting to the terror attacks, killings and abductions, Obi on Thursday in a series of posts on his X (formerly Twitter) handle lamented that these were happening at a time when Nigerians needed more hands on the farms to enable the country produce enough foods for local consumption, stem the galloping food inflation, and build a productive economy and nation.

He wrote, “Once again, Nigerians are besieged by reports of terror attacks in different parts of the country. While about 50 persons, including a family of seven, were reportedly killed in a militia gang war in the Ukum area of Benue State, over 100 internally displaced persons, mostly women, were reported to have been abducted by terrorists in Borno State.

“Aside from the sad and painful loss of precious human lives to these terror attacks, our dear nation has continued to lose its economic and social life to insecurity.

“More worrisome is that these attacks now occur almost daily. We must not allow our dear nation to continue this dangerous slide into anarchy. I was equally shocked to read that farmers in Northern Nigeria now pay bandits up to N100,000 for permission to farm or risk being attacked.

“These are happening at a time when we need more hands on the farms to enable us to produce enough foods for local consumption, stem the galloping food inflation, and build a productive economy and nation for ourselves.

“I therefore salute our security agencies, who have continued to make different sacrifices to ensure that insecurity is stamped out in our nation. However, we need to make more efforts to match the enemies of our nation with enough fire power to subdue them and reclaim our nation.”

He further said, “Ultimately, I have maintained that lifting people out of poverty through job creation and support for small businesses is the surest way of fighting insecurity in the long run.

“The vast lands in the North remain our greatest assets, which if invested in by the government, will productively engage our youths and ultimately reduce crime.

“I sincerely commiserate with all the families who have lost their loved ones in these attacks, pray for quick recovery of the injured, and that the abducted ones may be rescued without further harm.

“May God grant eternal rest to the dead.”

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