JNI Condemns Uromi – Obajana Road’s Gruesome Murder In Edo State And Their Sweltering

It is utterly condemnable, barbaric and unprecedented the cowardlyand gruesome murder of burning alive 16 innocent defenseless travelers returning from River state enroute Kano State. This heinous and despicable act happened in Udune Efandion, an Uromi community in Esan North Local Government, Edo State. The victims believed on hunting expedition were subjected to unimaginable and grotesque massacre by some members of a vigilante group. The horrific videos online and several accounts of the heinous incidence at the public domain clearly indicate that more needs to be done on security operations of the Nigerian highways, especially during a distressing situation.

What is Nigeria turning into – a lawless or anarchistic country? What really is the matter that government has continued to allow criminals to go scot-free whenever they perpetrated carnage and mayhem in every of their operations against innocent citizens? Isn’t it ironic and heart-rending that citizens plying major roads in some parts of the country are often gruesomely killed, as happened in Edo State? Several of such incidences have been happening against the Muslims, especially those engaged in commerce with Southern Nigeria. Cases in point are the Ishielu Local Government Area’s herders killing and the reprisals therefrom in February, 2025. Likewise, the burning of truck conveying cows along Aguata Local Government of Anambra State on 8th May, 2022. In fact, on Tuesday, 1st February, 2022, Daily Trust Newspaper did an exclusive report on how IPOB killed Herder, shot Igbo man’s 30 cows, just as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) tasked the governors of South East states, as well as security agencies to end the killing of cows by gunmen, on the 10th May, 2022 and was reported by the Guardian Newspaper on the 11th May, 2022.

The vicious killings of Northern Muslims in Southern Nigeria has continued unabated and worried by such acts, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) recently – on Tuesday, 4th March, 2025 had to make a statement expressing its concern over attacks on drivers of trucks conveying goods from the North to the South-East. They were genuinely worried especially that the DSS then invited Daily Trust’s reporters of the protest in Jos, Plateau State over the killing of drivers of northern extraction. We are therefore compelled to think that the government seems not to understand the pains its citizens suffer occasioned by the many insecurity upheavals, as only condemnations of such acts without manhunt of the culprits, despite having the footage isn’t the expectations of the citizens.

Nevertheless, JNI condemns in the strongest terms the cruel and barbaric killings of the victims, just as the renewed attacks in North East and many of such reprehensible acts. For how long, shall we continue to condemn acts of extreme barbarism without any concerted efforts to ending it? For how long, would we continue to remain lethargic? And for how long would we continue to remain hopeless in precarious situations? Be as it may, we send our heart-felt condolences to the respective families of the commuters and the Kano state Government, as it is reportedly stated that the victims were from Kano State.

We reiterate our calls to the federal government to rise up to its primary responsibility of protecting and securing citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religion to go beyond the tired cliches of condemnation and appeals for calm on security failures. Nigerians are desperately yearning for concrete actions against all forms of brigands and criminalities.

To put the record straight, JNI condemns killings of innocent souls wherever they happen and whoever is involved. JNI also condemns the generalization of criminals as representatives of the whole, thus leading to unjust stereotyping and hate campaign. We condemn all criminals, whoever they are and wherever they come from. A criminal should be treated as a criminal regardless of his/her ethnicity and or religious affiliation.

OUR PRAYERS

The Muslim community, as well as the people of Kano State should in the name of Allah, the Most High, not engage in any reprisal attack. We are in the month of Ramadhan and after it would be a festive period. Therefore, security men should be vigil and intelligence gathering should be enhanced and intensified against any form of reprisal attack. We should remain calm and pray for the deceased. The Kano State Government, as well as security agencies should also be on the alert.

2.         Manhunt and subsequent arrest of all the perpetrators of the Edo Carnage should be diligently launched by the relevant security agencies. The Edo State Government should also follow up the prosecution to logical conclusion, culprits be served death sentences, so to serve as deterrence.

3.         The federal government should be seen to be proactive on security matters. The reoccurrence of security cataclysms (abductions, renewed attack of Boko Haram insurgents and ethnic violence) in some part of the country is alarming. There is urgent need for redress. Citizens are becoming more and more agitated, especially with the Edo massacre in Esan North local government.

4.         Government should take the bull by the horn to prosecute promoters of hate speech in Nigeria, otherwise it will become a norm that might spell doom for the country. Government should act fast before we are consumed by their induced conflagrations.

5.         We also expect the federal as well as Edo State Governments, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Muslim Lawyers Association (MULAN), and well-meaning civil societies and organisations to seek for redress of the victims through the courts of law, because justice delayed is justice denied.

6.         Finally, while we continue to express our sincere condolences to all the victims of the brutal murder in Edo state, we are calling on the Nigerian Governors, relevant security agencies and non-governmental organisations to synergize with a view to finding a lasting solution to these repeated and senseless killings in Nigeria.

Prof. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu

Secretary-General, JNI