Insecurity: Nigerians Have Right To Seek Foreign Assistance — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that Nigerians have the right to seek help from the international community if the government fails in its constitutional duty to protect them.

Obasanjo stated this during the 2025 Plateau Unity Christmas Carol, held at the Ten Commandments Altar in Jos, where he attended as a special guest on the invitation of the Plateau State Government.

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“If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot do, and we should have no apology for that,” he said.

According to him, with modern technology, including satellites and drones, criminals should not have the freedom to commit crimes and disappear.

“Why are we apologising? Why are we negotiating? The government must stop the killing of Nigerians. We are being killed, we are tired, and we want the killing to stop,” he added.

The former president also expressed concern over the rising wave of insecurity across the country.

He said that, despite being its first responsibility, the Federal Government seems incapable of protecting Nigeria.

He recalled the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, stressing that insecurity has deteriorated further rather than improved.

“Since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, it has continued to go from bad to worse. The first responsibility of any government is the protection and security of its citizens, but our government seems to be incapable of protecting us,” he said.

Obasanjo, however, insisted that killings across the country must not be trivialised or reduced to ethnic or religious comparisons.

“We Nigerians are being killed — no matter the religion you belong to, no matter where you come from. And for anybody saying that when we are being killed, another group is also being killed, I believe that is nonsensical,” the former president stated.

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The Plateau Unity Christmas Carol attracted top government officials, religious leaders, traditional rulers, security agencies and thousands of worshippers, with prayers offered for unity, healing and reconciliation in Plateau State and Nigeria.

The ceremony marked the second edition of the annual carol.