Last week’s gruesome murder of some people in Uromi area of Edo State has again raised the question of how much value we place on human lives and how increasingly insecure and vulnerable we are as people. It has also raised some questions around our seriousness in building that nation where the protection of lives and property would indeed be the primary objective of government at all levels. A society where all will be equal before the law and where all would live and be treated as citizens and be free.
Except we are agreed to deceiving ourselves, every life must matter wherever that human is resident. The life of a Nigerian in Sokoto must be as important as that of another Nigerian in Delta or Ibadan. A Nigerian that lives in Onitsha must feel free and be as secure as another Nigerian that lives in Makurdi or Damaturu.
Anything short of that would mean that our attempts at building this nation would tantamount building a castle on a faulty or weak foundation; It would sooner than later all come down in heap of debris.
The recent killing of 16 Northerners in Uromi, Edo State, should not only be condemned but also the culprits brought to justice.
The report of this unfortunate incident is not very clear, but the major angle of the story is that some so-called hunters from Kano en route Port Harcourt, were accosted at Uromi and some firearms were seen with them with huge sums of money. The report also said the suspects were actually burnt alive by an irate mob who believed these people might be some of those behind kidnappings and violent attacks against farmers and travellers in the community.
Killing them in such cold blood is barbaric and condemnable. Again, even though the story also has it that the men first attacked the people, the truth is that since the community or the mob eventually overpowered the suspects, the least required from them was to disarm them and hand them over to the police.
In arriving at this submission, one is not unmindful of the fact that the police themselves have not given the citizens enough reason to believe in their ability to diligently prosecute crime and restore some measure of confidence in the force.
It’s this lack of effective policing that is sadly making people seek self help by taking laws into hands. This again, calls to question the ideal policing requirement for Nigeria. How long can the people continue to resort to jungle justice in this age and time?
This unfortunate Uromi incident, expectedly, has sparked outrage across the country, with many questioning the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies in the country.
The brazen nature of these killings suggests not just a breakdown in law enforcement but also a disturbing level of complicity through inaction by the police and political authorities over the years.
To take the Uromi incident in isolation is to miss the point, because these killings have been long in coming. We have gradually and consistently been eroding the values and sanctity of human lives and rights.
Last week, a man, Godwin Anuka, who was kidnapped by suspected Fulani herders alongside his wife and two children in the Ubulu-Uku area of Delta State, was killed in the presence of his wife and children.
The kidnappers had abducted two persons on March 23 and taken them into the bush while demanding ransom.
It was noted that, while the kidnappers were hiding in the bush with the two abducted victims, they saw Anuka alongside his wife and two underage children working on their farm.
According to the report, the kidnappers proceeded to abduct Anuka and his family and began demanding ransom.
Anuka, his wife, and two underage children were kidnapped on March 29, 2025, at their farm in Ubulu-Uku, Delta State.
This scenario typifies the daily experiences of several communities across the country.
For how long can the people continue to trust the government and security operatives to protect them? When they eventually decide to help themselves forming vigilance groups and the Uromi experience happens a hypocritical nation and leadership become outraged and enraged threatening fire and brimstone.
A hypocritical nation that stands by while lives are daily wasted from the north to the South and no prosecution takes place. Even those that are arrested are released under questionable circumstances. Some are given safe heavens in government houses while others are recruited into the security forces or rehabilitated under spurious government schemes.
The same hypocritical northern elite who would maintain conspiratorial silence when Deborah was killed in Kano are the same people who are crying that we must let hell loose over the unfortunate Uromi killings.
The same northern elite in Kano that slammed Deborah Samuel’s killers with charges of disturbing the peace, rather than murder, are the same ones saying the Uromi killers must be tried and punished.
The same hypocrites who allowed Kabiru Sokoto safe passage and escape from justice are the same people demanding that Uromi suspects must be publicly paraded else the gates of hades would be thrown open.
Are we really serious people or has our hypocrisy so blinded us that we no longer have the senses of discernment and right judgement?
So, do I support that the Uromi killers be brought to justice? Yes, the same way I insist that those mobs who have been killing people in the north in the name of religion should also be brought to justice and punishment equally served.
Until then, this tendency to cry out only when it affects a particular set of people and remain mute when it affects others from other parts of the country would be a waste of time and ineffective.
The Uromi tragedy is the outcome of pent-up anger and frustrations and there will be more such unfortunate incidents as long as the Northern elite insist that it’s either open grazing or nothing. There will continue to be extrajudicial killings as long as we continue to justify Armed men moving around unchecked in the name of being hunters or herders. We will continue to experience waste of human lives as long as the northern elite keep mum when Herders kill and scream on top of their voices when the people decide to defend themselves by taking the laws into their hands.
All lives must matter and it’s only when we know this that we shall know peace as a nation. Those who have been perpetrating these heinous crimes across the country are not faceless nor are they ghosts. Those who provide these poorly-clad, malnourished herders with AK-47 are not spirits. Until we get them to account for their misdeeds, there will be more Uromi incidents in future. And that is rather sad.
How can a country that has spilled the blood of innocent souls that are still crying out for justice, desire peace? It is illusionary.
