Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, has condemned the renewed wave of violence that has claimed several lives in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
Reacting to the grim news on Friday, Obi described the latest attack — which reportedly left more than 10 people dead on Wednesday night — as “deeply distressing” and a tragic addition to the string of killings in the region.
“This morning, I woke up to yet another gory and deeply troubling report from Bokkos. Entire families have been slaughtered. Children and pregnant women were not spared. How much longer must we continue to live like this?” he wrote on his official X handle.
The Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) had earlier confirmed the deaths, blaming suspected bandits for the attack.
This incident comes just a week after mourners in Ruwi community, also in Bokkos LGA, were targeted by gunmen, leaving over 22 people dead in total over the past seven days.
Obi lamented what he termed the “normalisation” of mass killings in the country, warning that the frequency of such tragedies points to a growing culture of impunity.
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“We are now normalising mass killings and mass burials as a way of life in our nation. This must not continue. Every Nigerian life is sacred — whether in Edo, Benue, Enugu, Borno, Anambra, Ondo, or Plateau,” he stated.
He called on the federal government and security agencies to urgently step up their response to insecurity, saying citizens now live in constant fear, unable to safely visit their farms or markets without risking their lives.
“Communities like Bokkos, Jato-Aka in Benue, Eha-Amufu in Enugu, Ufuma in Anambra, and Aba Oyinbo in Ondo deserve full protection. Nigerians deserve to live without fear,” he said.
Obi concluded his statement by sending his condolences to the families of the victims and urged the government to act decisively to halt the bloodshed and bring perpetrators to justice.