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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) has raised fresh concerns over worsening security situation in Nigeria, warning that terrorists are operating with “shocking impunity” across the country and increasingly targeting both rural and urban communities.
In a statement issued yesterday, the group said the frequency, spread and brutality of recent attacks indicate that the nation is “getting worse, not better” with citizens facing growing danger regardless of location.
The statement signed by SMBLF leader, Oladipo Olaitan, alongside Bitrus Pogu, John Azuta-Mbata, and Godknows Igali, said the frequency, spread and sheer brutality of the attacks leave no room for doubt. “Nigeria is bleeding, and Nigerians are becoming more unsafe by the day, whether in the quiet of rural villages or in the heart of bustling towns and cities.”
The group cited a series of recent attacks, including the killing of over 40 people on Palm Sunday in Jos, Plateau State, and in Kagarko, Kaduna State. Additional killings were reported in Benue State, Nasarawa State and other parts of Plateau in the days that followed.
Describing the incidents as both tragic and symbolic, the SMBLF said the attacks coinciding with Palm Sunday and Easter were “not only acts of mass murder but a chilling desecration of sacred days,” adding that they signal a dangerous expansion of terrorism into urban centres.
“What we are witnessing is not random violence,” the statement said. “It is a calculated, escalating campaign of terror that is no longer confined to remote areas but is creeping ominously into our cities, threatening the very fabric of national life.”
The forum also referenced earlier attacks in Borno State, including assaults linked to Boko Haram in Ngoshe and Maiduguri as well as killings in Kwara State, where scores of people were reportedly killed.
While condoling affected communities, the group praised residents for exercising restraint despite what it described as deep, searing grief and justified anger.
“At a time when emotions are raw and wounds are fresh, the restraint shown by these communities is both admirable and heartbreaking,” the forum noted. “But restraint must not be mistaken for resignation.”
The SMBLF stressed that sympathy alone was insufficient and called for accountability and decisive action from authorities.
“These heinous crimes must not dissolve into the fog of forgotten tragedies,” it said. “There must be justice, visible, firm, and uncompromising. Heads must roll.”
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The group criticised what it described as a “dangerously soft” approach by some federal authorities, pointing to recent remarks by Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede and Nuhu Ribadu, which it said framed terrorists in overly sympathetic terms.
“To describe those who massacre innocent citizens as ‘prodigal sons’ or ‘our brothers’ is to send a deeply troubling signal. It suggests that mass murder can be washed away with mere remorse and that justice is negotiable.”
The forum also condemned the Federal Government’s Operation Open Corridor initiative, describing it as a policy that “ewards perpetrators while abandoning victims.
“It is a cruel paradox. Those who have shattered lives and razed communities are rehabilitated with public funds, fed, clothed, and reintegrated, while their victims languish in overcrowded camps, forgotten and forsaken,” the group stated.
SBLF called for immediate scrapping of the programme as it insisted that “no nation that is serious about justice and security pampers mass murderers while neglecting those they have devastated.”
The forum also rejected the granting of amnesty to bandits by some state governments, arguing that such measures have failed to deliver peace and instead embolden criminal elements.
“Amnesty, in the absence of accountability, becomes an incentive for further violence,” it warned. “Criminals do not interpret these gestures as goodwill, they see them as weakness.”
The SMBLF said Nigeria’s security architecture is “clearly failing” and requires urgent overhaul, with a renewed focus on intelligence, deterrence and accountability.
In a controversial recommendation, the group also called for the regulated liberalisation of access to weapons for citizens, arguing that communities must be empowered to defend themselves where state protection falls short.
“No community should be left exposed, vulnerable, and defenseless,” the statement read. “When help comes too late or not at all, citizens must have the lawful means to stand as the first line of defense against those who seek to destroy them.”
The forum warned that Nigeria stands at a “dangerous crossroads,” urging the government to act decisively before the situation deteriorates further.
“The current path is unsustainable and perilous,” it said. “Time is running out. The government must rethink, recalibrate, and respond with urgency and resolve. Anything less will embolden the enemies of peace and imperil the unity and survival of our nation.”
