TheCable

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has condemned the abduction of six sisters in the Bwari area council of Abuja.

In a statement on Sunday, Obi said cases of attacks and abductions being recorded in the federal capital territory (FCT) have shown how “insecure the rest of the country is”.

The girls were kidnapped alongside their father from their residence in Zuma 1 in the Bwari area council of Abuja on January 5.

During the attack, the gunmen shot a relative of the girls and two policemen.

On Sunday, the family of the girls announced that Nabeeha, one of the six girls had been killed by her abductors.

The remaining five girls are still in captivity while the corpse of Nabeeha has been released to the family.

In his reaction to the incident, Obi said the incessant attacks and the killing of Nabeeha by her abductors were an indicator of how helpless Nigerians are.

“The reported tragic killing of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who was kidnapped alongside her father and siblings in Abuja, by bandits, not only shows how insecurity currently ravages the nation but also shows how helpless Nigerians have become in the face of these dangers,” he said.

“The trauma being experienced by this family and the blood of this innocent child should prick our conscience as leaders, whose duty it is to protect the life of every Nigerian citizen.

“The fact that these kidnappings, killings and other reported cases of armed robbery and violent attacks, are now taking place in Abuja, the nation’s capital, is a clear pointer to how insecure the rest of the country now is.”

The former presidential candidate expressed concern over the spate of attacks across the country, adding that gunmen recently burnt down the palace of Anambra’s traditional ruler.

“In a related development, suspected gunmen are reported to have set ablaze the palace of the traditional ruler of Isseke community in Anambra State, HRH Igwe Emmanuel Nnabuife,” he added.

“I am very concerned about how insecurity has continued to ravage every part of our dear nation.

“The government and the security agencies, who are at the forefront of this war against insecurity, need to put in more efforts to rescue the remaining family members in captivity, ensure that every part of the nation is secure and that every Nigerian is protected in our nation.

“Hopefully, they will ensure that such violent crimes are no longer committed in our nation.”

He condoled with the family of the girls and prayed that God grant the rest of the sisters freedom from captivity.