Presidential hopeful Peter Obi has strongly condemned claims that government officials supplied arms and ammunition to bandits and kidnappers. He said these allegations require an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation.
In a statement released yesterday, Obi said, “This type of news fallout goes to give credence to the much referenced quotation of late military leader General Sani Abacha that ‘Any insurgency that lasts more than 24 hours, the government is involved’.”
Obi referred to a recent video from Kwara State where suspected terrorists, arrested by security forces, claimed that government officials provided them with ammunition and logistics.
He said, “This allegation, now circulating widely, demands nothing less than an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation.”
Obi pointed out that over the years, the government has collected trillions of naira and billions of dollars in the name of security, yet insecurity has only grown across the country in a more brazen way.
He quoted former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said, “Before I left office, Nigeria could identify and locate anyone who committed any crime anywhere in the country.
“Today, with technology such as drones and improved tracking tools, we can easily locate and remove them. But we are not doing that. Why are we negotiating with terrorists?”
Obi noted that the government controls telecommunications, intelligence systems, and financial trails, yet kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism continue to thrive, raising serious questions about those in power.
He recalled that between 2010 and 2015, under President Jonathan, Nigeria built one of its most advanced police communication and tracking systems designed to monitor criminals, especially terrorists, and respond quickly.
Obi asked, “Where are these pieces of equipment, and why are they not being used? Why do terrorists’ confessions so often implicate government officials?”
He also mentioned the recent St. Mary’s Catholic School attack, where about 100 children were released and government officials celebrated, but no terrorists were arrested, no punishments announced, and no updates given on the more than 200 children and teachers still held captive.
Obi questioned, “Why have we not deployed the equipment already at our disposal to trace these terrorists and rescue the remaining abducted schoolchildren?”
He concluded, “When insecurity persists on this scale, day after day, it points either to complicity or to a failure of leadership. No society should accept either.”
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