Borgu: We Must Never Normalise the Killing of Nigerians The reports emerging from Borgu, Niger State, are becoming increasingly difficult to comprehend and deeply painful to contemplate. On 27 August, I expressed my anguish over the reported abduction of about 600 Nigerians, many of them women, children and elderly people, alongside the killing of others. I described it then as “one case too many” and urged that it be treated with the urgency it deserved. Today, that anguish has become even deeper. We are now confronted with continuing reports of the gruesome killing of some of those abducted, while many others remain unaccounted for. In another disturbing incident, a bandit group reportedly beheaded a Nigerian and sent his severed head to a community leader over a ₦50 million levy. If the reported killing was intended to increase pressure on the community and extract more money for those still being held, then we must recognise the terrible reality before us: human life is being deliberately turned into a bargaining instrument. One person is killed to terrorise an entire community, while others are kept alive as hostages for more ransom. This is not merely criminality; it is the systematic devaluation of human life. These are not statistics. They are Nigerians. They are mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sisters and elderly people. Their only offence was to live in communities where the protection of the state has become increasingly inadequate. We must therefore ask ourselves a fundamental question: At what point do we, as a nation, decide that this is no longer acceptable? We cannot continue to normalise the kidnapping of hundreds of citizens, the killing of innocent people, the imposition of levies on communities, the displacement of entire populations and the payment of ransom as though these are unavoidable features of Nigerian life. The consequences of insecurity go beyond those abducted or killed. Families are displaced, farms abandoned, businesses destroyed, children deprived of education, and citizens forced to seek safety elsewhere. Insecurity ultimately destroys both lives and public confidence in government. Nigeria cannot continue reacting only after lives are lost. We need intelligence-led operations, stronger community security, rapid response, better coordination and equipment for our security forces, effective border protection, and sustained action against criminal networks. The primary responsibility of government is the security and welfare of its citizens. While politicians prepare for elections, Nigerians are asking for something more fundamental: the right to live. We must never accept a Nigeria where kidnapping, ransom, criminal levies and the killing of innocent citizens become normal. Every Nigerian life matters. Every victim deserves justice. Every community deserves protection. Our prayers must be matched with action. No criminal group should determine who lives or dies anywhere in Nigeria. Nigeria must restore security, justice, and the dignity of human life. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO