By Abdulrahman Aliagan,
The leadership of of the faith-based organisations, Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and Faith and Freedom Africa (FFA), under the leadership of Mr. Felix Joseph Samari, has strongly condemned the gruesome killings of innocent Nigerians in Plateau State on Palm Sunday, the Woro Massacre in Kiama Local Government Area, the killings in Omugo in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, and several other violent attacks recorded across the country.
The organisations described the recurring bloodshed as an intolerable national tragedy, a stain on the conscience of the nation, and a brutal assault on the sanctity of human life.
In a strongly-worded statement, personally signed by Country Representative of FoRB and FFA, Mr Felix Joseph Samari and made available to journalists, said the continuous massacre of innocent citizens in different parts of Nigeria has become a frightening symbol of the failure of the state to guarantee the most basic right of its people rights to life.
According to the statement, the killings in Plateau, Woro, Omugo and other communities across the federation are not isolated incidents, but part of a dangerous and persistent pattern of violence, lawlessness, impunity and insecurity that must no longer be tolerated.
“We are deeply pained, outraged and heartbroken by the horrific killings of innocent Nigerians in Plateau State on Palm Sunday, the Woro Massacre in Kiama Local Government Area, the killings in Omugo in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, and many other communities across our country. These attacks are wicked, barbaric, inhuman and completely unacceptable in any civilized society,” the statement said.
FoRB and FFA lamented that while innocent citizens continue to be slaughtered, displaced, traumatized and thrown into mourning, the nation appears to be drifting into a dangerous culture where mass killings are fast becoming normalized.
The organisations warned that Nigeria must not become a nation where human life is treated as cheap and where communities are left to perish in silence while criminals and killers continue to operate with brazen confidence.
They said every attack on a community, whether in Plateau, Kwara or elsewhere, is an attack on the collective humanity of the nation and a direct challenge to the authority and moral legitimacy of the Nigerian state.
FoRB and FFA therefore called on the leadership of Nigeria at all levels, federal, state and local to urgently rise to what they described as the sacred burden of governance by taking concrete and visible steps to secure the lives and property of all Nigerians, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity, or beliefs.
The organisations stressed that the duty of government is not ceremonial sympathy after tragedy, but proactive protection before lives are lost.
“The leadership of Nigeria must rise to the billings of governance and confront this worsening culture of bloodshed with courage, sincerity and urgency.
Nigerians are tired of official condolences without justice, statements without strategy, and promises without protection. The security and welfare of the people must no longer remain a constitutional slogan must become a lived reality,” the statement added.
The groups maintained that every Nigerian life matters, whether the victim is a Christian, Muslim, traditional believer or of no religious affiliation, and insisted that the country cannot claim to be progressing while innocent citizens are routinely murdered in their homes, farms, worship centres and communities.
FoRB and FFA also issued a direct challenge to Nigeria’s security agencies, calling on them to intensify intelligence gathering, improve rapid response mechanisms, strengthen local surveillance structures, and ensure that all those behind the attacks are arrested and prosecuted.
The organisations said the repeated failure to identify and punish perpetrators has emboldened violent actors and created a dangerous climate of impunity and lawlessness.
“We challenge the Nigerian security agents to rise above routine reactions and prove to Nigerians that the lives of citizens truly matter. The perpetrators of the Plateau killings, the Woro Massacre, the Omugo killings and all similar attacks across the country must be tracked, arrested, prosecuted and brought to book. Justice delayed in these cases is justice denied to the dead, the wounded and the grieving,” the statement stressed.
The groups further warned that when murderers are not punished, violence becomes contagious, and communities begin to lose faith in the capacity of the state to protect them.
FoRB and FFA also called on religious leaders across Nigeria to urgently “up their game” in promoting peaceful coexistence, tolerance and dialogue among their followers.
The organisations noted that in a fragile and deeply diverse society like Nigeria, clerics and faith leaders carry enormous moral responsibility and must be intentional in using their influence to build bridges rather than deepen divisions.
They urged leaders of churches, mosques and other faith-based institutions to continually preach peace, mutual respect, empathy, restraint and the sacredness of life, while also discouraging hate speech, incitement and all forms of extremist rhetoric.
“Religion must never be weaponized for violence, hostility or division. Religious leaders must become stronger advocates of peace, dialogue and social harmony. This is not the time for silence, indifference or passive spirituality. It is the time for moral courage and responsible leadership,” the statement said.
The organisations stressed that interfaith dialogue and community engagement must become more visible and more deliberate if Nigeria is to break the cycle of retaliatory violence and suspicion that often follows communal attacks.
FoRB and FFA also sent a strong message to Nigerian youths, urging them not to see crime, violence, criminality or bloodshed as a means of survival, relevance or economic escape.
The organisations said the nation’s young people must reject every invitation into violent extremism, cultism, banditry, communal violence, political thuggery and other criminal enterprises, no matter how desperate the socio-economic conditions may be.
Instead, the groups encouraged youths to embrace meaningful ventures, including education, entrepreneurship, vocational development, innovation, agriculture, civic engagement and productive community service.
“To the youths of Nigeria, we say this with all seriousness: your future cannot be built on bloodshed, destruction or criminality. Violence may offer temporary gain, but it ultimately destroys lives, families and communities. Choose productivity over crime, peace over violence, and purpose over lawlessness,” the statement declared.
FoRB and FFA also called on government and private sector stakeholders to invest more intentionally in youth development, job creation, skills acquisition and social inclusion so as to reduce the vulnerability of young people to criminal recruitment and manipulation.
The organisations said the time has come for a renewed national conscience, where every stakeholder government, security institutions, faith communities, traditional rulers, civil society, media and ordinary citizens must take responsibility for building a more secure and humane society.
FoRB and FFA warned that if the cycle of killings is not decisively broken, the nation risks sinking deeper into fear, mistrust, social fragmentation and avoidable chaos.
The groups extended heartfelt condolences to the families of all victims in Plateau State, Woro, Omugo and other affected communities across Nigeria, praying for comfort for the bereaved, healing for the injured and justice for the slain.
“We mourn with every grieving family, we stand in solidarity with every attacked community, and we pray for healing and peace across Nigeria. The blood of innocent citizens must not continue to flow without consequence. Nigeria must rise above this darkness,” the statement concluded.
