By Nkechi Eze
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned the recent wave of killings in Plateau State, Taraba State and Kaduna State, describing the attacks as further evidence that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government has failed to provide solutions to the country’s worsening security challenges.
Gunmen were reported to have stormed the Gari Ya Waye community in the Angwan Rukuba district near the University of Jos in Jos, opening fire indiscriminately and leaving about 30 people dead, with several others sustaining varying degrees of injuries. The development has heightened tensions in the community, with some youths reportedly threatening reprisal attacks following what they described as repeated and unchecked assaults on residents.
Other attacks were also recorded in different parts of the country over the same period. In Kahir in Kaduna State, 13 people were reportedly killed during an attack on a wedding ceremony, while in Takum in Taraba State, a policeman, a fuel station attendant and two internally displaced persons were reportedly killed while attempting to obtain food.
Reacting to the incidents in a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, North Central, Hon. Abdulmumini Abdulsalam, the NDC condemned the attacks and expressed sympathy with the victims and their families, particularly the people of Plateau State.
“We mourn with you, and we feel your pains. Your loss is our loss, and your grief is our grief,” Abdulsalam stated.
The party argued that the repeated attacks demonstrate what it described as the inability of the APC-led government to effectively tackle insecurity across the country.
According to the statement, it is becoming increasingly evident that the ruling party has no workable solution to the persistent violence in Plateau State, the Middle Belt and other parts of Nigeria.
The NDC further criticised what it described as the federal government’s repeated responses to security incidents, noting that statements from Bola Ahmed Tinubu often follow a familiar pattern of issuing directives to security chiefs without producing lasting results.
“It is not enough for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to speak from a now-too-familiar template that is increasingly sounding like a broken record, rehashing the same marching order to service chiefs and security agencies, and return to inertia immediately after,” the statement said.
The party also expressed concern over what it described as the slow response of authorities to the violence, noting that the governors of the affected states belong to the APC.
It added that even the efforts previously undertaken by Caleb Muftwang, governor of Plateau State, appeared to have slowed, alleging that the government now merely pays lip service to bringing perpetrators to justice.
The NDC therefore called on the federal government to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to halt the killings and bring those responsible to justice.
“We call on the APC government to go beyond rhetorics and optics, and do something concrete to stop the killings and arrest this mindless slaughter of innocent Nigerians and stop playing politics with the lives of Nigerians,” the statement added.
