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.