Peter Obi blames leadership failure for Benue killings

Peter Obi, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has condemned the recent mass killings in Benue State, describing the gruesome killings suspected armed herdsmen as a direct consequence of leadership failure in Nigeria.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Obi expressed heartbreak over the attacks, which claimed the lives of women, children, soldiers, and displaced persons.

 He called for an urgent national response, warning against the growing normalisation of mass killings in the country.

“My heart is heavy as I learn of yet another horrific series of killings in Benue of women, children, soldiers, and displaced persons, all senselessly slain.

This tragedy has become too common in our national life, and the Benue situation now calls for a national emergency,” Obi said.

According to the former Anambra State governor, the scale of the killings goes beyond isolated violence and reflects systemic governance failure.

“Over 200 lives have reportedly been extinguished in a single onslaught, homes burnt, families shattered, communities left in ruin. This is not merely violence.

It is a failure of leadership, a stain on our collective conscience,” Obi stated.

He lamented the continued inability of governments at all levels to perform their primary duty of securing lives and property, saying each loss of life is a deep wound to the nation.

He said, ”Every life lost is a Nigerian life, each one precious, each one irreplaceable. We cannot accept the normalisation of mass killing. It is intolerable.

“The primary duty of any government, federal, state, or local is to protect lives and property.

“When it repeatedly fails, we must ask: What kind of nation are we bequeathing to our children?.”

Obi offered words of solidarity to grieving communities in Benue, assuring them that their suffering is not in vain.

To the people of Benue, I say: your pain is our pain.

The blood of your loved ones cries out for justice.

“The survival of our people must not be negotiable; it must be urgent, deliberate, and comprehensive action.”

He also called on authorities to move beyond mere rhetoric and take concrete, decisive steps to protect vulnerable communities.

Obi wrote,”To all relevant authorities, I say that the time has come to move beyond symbolic gestures to decisive deployment.

“Let your actions speak louder than visits or statements.

“A safe, secure Benue is not too much to ask,it is our moral duty, our national duty.”

Closing his statement, Obi said the current state of insecurity does not reflect the Nigeria that citizens deserve or aspire to live in.

This is not the Nigeria we deserve, nor the Nigeria we aspire to.

“We must end this bloodshed. We must reclaim our humanity,” Obi added.

News had reported that armed herders invaded Yelwata and Daudu towns in Guma Local Government Area of the state, killing hundreds of people, including security operatives, between Friday night and Saturday morning.

A local leader, Matthew Mnyan, claimed the death toll could be as high as 200, including five security personnel.