End Negotiations With Terrorists, Obasanjo Tells  Nigerian Governemnt 

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged the Federal Government to stop negotiating with terrorists and take firmer, more decisive action against the worsening insecurity across the country.

Speaking at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival in Jos on Friday, Obasanjo condemned the rising wave of killings, abductions, and attacks in several northern communities. He warned that Nigeria must be willing to accept international assistance if the government is unable to protect its citizens.

His comments come amid a series of large-scale kidnappings. On November 21, 315 students and 13 teachers were abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State. Days earlier, on November 17, terrorists seized 26 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.

In another incident, bandits attacked the Palaita community in Shiroro LGA of Niger State, abducting 24 people, including pregnant women, from a rice farm. About 20 more people were kidnapped in separate attacks in Kano and Kwara between Monday night and Tuesday morning. This followed the release of 38 worshippers abducted from a church in Eruku, Kwara State, after the Federal Government reportedly negotiated with their captors.

During a fresh assault on Tuesday, 10 additional victims, including a pregnant woman, nursing mothers, and children, were taken from the Isapa community near Eruku.

Reacting to the disturbing trend, Obasanjo said Nigerians are justified in seeking help from the global community if their own government fails to provide adequate security.

“No matter your religion or where you come from, Nigerians are being killed, and our government seems incapable of protecting us,” he said. “If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what it cannot do.”

Obasanjo noted that modern technology now offers improved tools for tackling terrorism, arguing that drones and other advanced systems should make it easier to locate and neutralise offenders.

“Before I left office, we had the capacity to identify and locate anyone who committed a crime anywhere in Nigeria. What we lacked was the ability to apprehend such persons quickly without going by land or air. Today, with drones, we can get them. So why aren’t we doing that? Why are we apologising? Why are we negotiating?” he asked.

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