The gruesome killing of 16 innocent travelers in Edo State is yet another testament to Nigeria’s dangerous descent into lawlessness and mob rule. This tragic event, where individuals were slaughtered in broad daylight based on mere suspicion, is not just an isolated incident—it is a glaring reflection of the plight of the poor in Nigeria. The world watches as innocent blood flows like a polluted river through the streets, yet those in power remain indifferent. Martin Luther King Jr. once warned, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Nigeria, by allowing such barbarism to thrive, is sowing the seeds of its own destruction.
In a country where human rights are supposed to be protected, the government does not seem to care about the suffering of its poorest people. Nigerian leaders have failed again and again to protect their citizens. Instead, they treat ordinary people as if they don’t matter while giving special treatment to foreigners. Even in the United States, animals have rights, but in Nigeria, human lives are taken without consequence. As Nelson Mandela once declared, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” The Edo massacre is not just violence—it is a clear sign that Nigerian leaders do not value their own people.
Mob justice is now a regular occurrence because people no longer trust the justice system. These 16 travelers were not criminals; they were simply carrying hunting weapons, but that did not justify their brutal execution. Instead of being questioned by the police or taken to court, they were attacked, killed, and burned. This exposes the complete failure of law and order in Nigeria. Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” By refusing to act, Nigerian leaders are silently supporting this violence.
While Nigerians are treated like goods, packed into overcrowded cars or even inside car trunks, foreigners—especially white people—are treated like royalty by the same Nigerian government. The difference is shocking. When will Nigerian lives matter to Nigerian leaders? The Bible warns in Isaiah, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees.” Bad governance has turned Nigeria into a place where the weak suffer while the powerful thrive.
The Edo killings should be a wake-up call for the government to start protecting human lives and upholding the law. Those responsible must face justice. If this kind of mob violence is not stopped, Nigeria will become a country where everyone lives in fear, knowing that at any moment, they could be the next victim. As Winston Churchill warned, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” If nothing is done, Nigeria will continue its downward spiral into chaos.
The land is crying with the blood of the innocent, yet justice is nowhere to be found. John Locke once said that the first duty of any government is to protect life, yet Nigeria’s leaders have abandoned this responsibility. The cries of the oppressed rise to the heavens, but will they ever be answered? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled,” Jesus said. But where is righteousness when people are killed like animals in a country that claims to believe in God?
If Nigerian leaders continue to ignore their people, the country will sink deeper into lawlessness. The question remains: How many more must die before Nigerian lives matter? It is time to stop treating human beings as statistics. Nigeria must choose justice before it is too late.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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