Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the renewed wave of killings in Plateau State, describing the attacks and the reported assault on mourners during a burial in Barkin Ladi as evidence of worsening insecurity and failure of government response.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Mr Atiku said the recurring violence in Plateau now bears “the frightening signature of organised terrorism.”
He warned that the continued bloodshed exposed what he described as the absence of an effective counterterrorism strategy by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
According to the former vice president, the latest killings in Barkin Ladi were another painful reminder that innocent Nigerians were being left at the mercy of armed attackers while government response remained slow and reactive.
“The violent crises in Plateau State have become an open sore that Nigeria must urgently heal. What is happening is no longer random violence. It is a recurring pattern of coordinated terror attacks against vulnerable communities,” Mr Atiku said.
The statement said reports indicated that armed men attacked the Nding Susut community in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area on Tuesday night, killing several residents.
It added that the attackers allegedly returned the following day and attacked mourners gathered for the burial of the victims.
Mr Atiku described the incident as a grim reflection of a country where even burial ceremonies were no longer safe.
“That attackers could reportedly return to the same community barely 24 hours later to unleash another round of bloodshed is a damning indictment of the government’s failure to respond swiftly to distress calls and secure vulnerable communities,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised what he described as conflicting official accounts surrounding the incident, saying Nigerians deserved urgent action rather than “bureaucratic contradiction or institutional defensiveness.”
“There can be no justification whatsoever for this repeated failure. Nigerians are tired of condolences without protection, and outrage without action,” he added.
Mr Atiku further recalled that President Tinubu did not visit communities affected by the March 29 attacks in Jos North during his April 2 visit to Plateau State.
“Leadership demands more than carefully staged appearances; it demands empathy, courage, and decisive action,” he said.
He accused the Tinubu administration of failing in its constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property, adding that the killings reflected “a frightening lack of political will, strategic clarity, and operational urgency.”
Citing various reports and official records, Atiku claimed that more than 2,500 people had been killed in Plateau State between 2023 and 2025.
“These are not mere statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, farmers, worshippers, and breadwinners whose lives have been cut short while government continues to grope in the dark for solutions,” he said.
The Waziri Adamawa called on the Federal Government, security agencies and the Plateau State Government to immediately adopt a comprehensive strategy to end the killings and restore public confidence.
“The people of Plateau State deserve safety, justice, and peace — not endless mourning and empty political rhetoric,” he said.
