Concerned leaders and citizens drawn from various parts of Nigeria and drawn from diverse in ethnicity, faith and political traditions have expressed worry over deepening security crisis in Nigeria.
In a press release jointly signed by eminent Nigerians across the six geopolitical regions, they frowned at the increasing rate of insecurity in the country.
Spearheaded by Osita Chidoka and joined by Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Hassan, a former minster and from North Central State, Sergius Ogun, representing South-South states, Nurudeem Mohammed for North West and sixteen others, the group said in a statement that “our nation is bleeding. Silence is complicity, and inaction is betrayal”.
They jointly made the statement under the auspices of Concerned Nigeria Leaders on Sunday in Abuja the nation’s capital.
The statement reads in part: “In just two years, Nigeria has recorded at least10,217 violent killings, according to Amnesty International. These numbers staggered the conscience. For perspective: over roughly the same period, Ukraine’s war has claimed 10,000–12,000 civilian lives, Gaza’s devastating siege has taken over 35,000, and Syria, still reeling from civil war, now averages 3,000–5,000 deaths annually.
“Parts of Nigeria are enduring wartime levels of slaughter, yet we are officially at peace. The devastation at home is chilling. Benue State alone has witnessed 6,896 killed, over 450,000 displaced, entire local councils hollowed out by fear. Plateau has lost 2,630 lives, its boreholes poisoned, granaries torched, farmers forced to watch harvests rot for fear of ambush on the road to market. Zamfara has seen at least 638 villages sacked, and residents are now paying criminal levies by phone under threat of mass killings,” it read.
The joint concerned Leaders also brought to the awareness of citizens that similar horrors persist in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Niger, where bandits have turned entire districts into chiefdoms Meanwhile, Boko Haram is resurging in the Northeast, regaining the ability to launch deadly assaults, kill servicemen and even attempt overruns of local governments, as seen in recent attacks on Gwoza, Damboa, Biu and Bama, forcing farmers off their fields and reviving fears of the dark days when the entire country trembled under their shadow.
They further revealed that Southeast, too, is gripped by relentless killings by unknown gunmen, making peace increasingly elusive.
“Why Does This Nightmare Continue? At its heart, our crisis reveals a brutal fact: the Nigerian state has surrendered its monopoly on the legitimate use of force. New armed groups flourish Lakurawa in Sokoto and Kebbi, Mamuda in Kwara, alongside local militias that exploit old grievances. What began as herder and united by one conviction that rises above all differences.
“Farmers disputes over land and water has morphed into sectarian wars, stoked by military grade weapons and deep distrust.
“Perhaps the most alarming thing is the national silence. The ritual of press condemnations after each massacre, and the swift return to other mundane issues, is now a national pastime.
“This is not resilience. It is the slow implosion of a nation and a rot of its conscience. Lessons from Around the World other countries, torn by even deeper divisions, found the courage to change course.
“Making instances with country like Colombia which was once ravaged by guerrillas, cartels and paramilitaries. Its state lost vast territories to terror, a predicament all too familiar to parts of Nigeria today. Change came only when leaders across rival camps acknowledged they had lost control, funded local peace deals, spurred economic renewal, and reformed their security forces.
“This convergence of national will gradually pulled Colombia back from the brink of collapse. Rwanda, haunted by genocide, did not look away from its ethnic wounds. It established grassroots courts to pursue accountability, reintegrated communities, and reformed security institutions to ensure the state’s reach extended to the remotest villages.
“Nigeria, too, bears deep scars of identity ethnic, religious, and regional tensions that demand similar bold, structural confrontations. Northern Ireland, after decades of bombings and reprisal killings, only found peace when its elites decided violence could no longer shape the future. They forged power-sharing deals under local and international guarantees, proving even the deepest hatreds can be unwound.
“These were not perfect journeys. They were fraught with setbacks and painful compromises. Yet they stand as enduring proof that crises on this scale are not immutable. They yield to political courage, elite consensus, and a willingness to confront hard truths. Nigeria’s path demands no less. A dangerous narrative that must end.
“We must resist the temptation to blame this violence on one group alone. As recent revelations in Katsina, Anambra, Benue and Plateau have shown that, while some of the attackers are foreigners with local collaborators, many of the attackers are Nigerians, sons of the soil, from various communities, who have abandoned kinship for criminality.
“This is a Nigerian problem with Nigerian faces. The challenge is not ethnic, but systemic poverty, arms proliferation, impunity, injustice, and the erosion of local governance. We must lift the veil of stereotypes and deal with the truth. Criminals come from every group; justice must be blind to identity,” the statement added.
On the way forward, the concerned leaders asserted: “We refuse to be silent accomplices. We call on the Presidency, National Assembly, Governors, traditional rulers, religious leaders, security chiefs, civil society, and every Nigerian of conscience: let us forge a new path.
“We propose urgent creation of a Presidential Task Force on National Security, with extraordinary powers and a clear mandate to coordinate and execute emergency measures to halt the violence.
“This Taskforce should work directly with the National Security Adviser (NSA) and all relevant security, intelligence, and humanitarian agencies”.
