A coalition of prominent Nigerian leaders has issued a joint statement raising concerns over the country’s worsening security crisis, warning that Nigeria is “bleeding” and risks sliding into chaos unless urgent, coordinated action is taken.
In the statement, signed by all the geo-political leaders drawn from across ethnic, religious, and political divides, the group cited Amnesty International’s report that at least 10,217 Nigerians have been killed in violent attacks over the past two years — figures they described as “wartime levels of slaughter” despite the country being officially at peace.
According to the statement, which highlighted figures from states hardest hit by violence, Benue alone has recorded nearly 6,900 deaths with over 450,000 people displaced, while Plateau has lost more than 2,600 lives to attacks, which has destroyed farms, poisoned water sources, and displaced entire communities.
In Zamfara, at least 638 villages have been razed, with residents now forced to pay criminal levies under threats of mass killings. Similar violence persists across Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, and Niger states, while Boko Haram resurges in the North-East, forcing farmers from their lands and reigniting fears of large-scale insurgency.
The leaders condemned what they described as “a dangerous national silence” as well as the failure of the Nigerian state to maintain its monopoly on the legitimate use of force.
They warned that farmer-herder disputes, once localised, have now morphed into sectarian wars fuelled by military-grade weapons, impunity and a collapse of governance at community levels.
Drawing lessons from other nations such as Colombia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland, the leaders urged Nigeria to confront its deep ethnic and religious divides through reforms, reconciliation and inclusive governance.
Rejecting ethnic scapegoating, the leaders stressed that perpetrators of violence are Nigerians from different communities, driven by systemic problems of poverty, injustice, arms proliferation, and weak governance. They called for justice to be “blind to identity”.
To halt the bloodshed, the statement proposed the urgent creation of a Presidential Task Force on National Security with extraordinary powers to coordinate intelligence, disarm armed groups, reintegrate displaced populations, and publish quarterly reports on arrests and prosecutions to rebuild public trust.
The leaders warned that Nigeria stands on a “knife-edge”, adding that history will judge, not the bandits, but those in authority who failed to act decisively.
The leaders demanded for operationalising community-based early warning systems and rapid response frameworks, ensuring that intelligence from local actors, traditional leaders, and civil society triggers immediate coordinated action, not bureaucratic delay.
It also demanded implementing a disarmament and reintegration programme for conflict zones, particularly in the North-East, North-Central and North-West, combining humanitarian assistance with strategic security deployment, to enable the safe return of displaced populations.
