Human rights lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has described the killing of over 162 Nigerians in Woro Village, Kwara State, as a moral collapse of the Nigerian state.
The Lead Counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), warned that continued silence and hesitation amount to complicity.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, Ejiofor said the massacre raises a disturbing national question about whether the lives of citizens still carry value within the corridors of power.
“There comes a moment when casualty figures cease to be statistics and become an indictment,” he said.
“The killing of over 162 innocent Nigerians is not merely a tragedy; it is a moral collapse.”
Ejiofor condemned what he described as the “barbaric and genocidal massacre” allegedly carried out by armed bandits and jihadist terrorists.
He insisted that the atrocity goes far beyond a failure of Nigeria’s security architecture.
“The incident constitutes a crime against humanity, an unambiguous act of terrorism, and a damning indictment of the Nigerian state’s inability—or worse, unwillingness—to safeguard human life,” he said.
According to the lawyer, the scale and coordination of the killings show that the violence was neither accidental nor spontaneous.
“When death on such a massive scale becomes possible, predictable, and recurrent, the failure is no longer accidental.
“It is systemic, profound, and deeply shameful,” Ejiofor stated.
Mass killings becoming routine
He expressed concern that mass killings across the country are increasingly treated as routine, with official responses reduced to statistics, condolences, and bureaucratic language.
“That defenceless men, women, and children could be methodically slaughtered in such staggering numbers ought to jolt the conscience of the nation.
“The grim arithmetic of death has become routine. What was once shocking has become familiar.”
Ejiofor rejected any attempt to frame the Woro killings as ordinary criminal violence, warning that such characterisation downplays the severity of the threat Nigeria faces.
“Let it be stated plainly: this was not random violence,” he said. “It was calculated, ideologically driven, and terror-induced.
“It bears the unmistakable hallmarks of jihadist expansionism steadily encroaching upon western Nigeria and other parts of the country.”
“To trivialise or sanitise such massacres under the convenient label of banditry is to insult the memory of the dead and embolden those who perpetrate these crimes,” Ejiofor warned.
Calling for urgent federal intervention, the human rights lawyer urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Kwara State.
According to him, the gravity of the situation leaves no room for delay. “This is not a political manoeuvre. It is a moral, constitutional, and existential necessity.
“The scale, coordination, and sheer savagery of this massacre incontrovertibly demonstrate that conventional security responses have failed. Extraordinary threats demand extraordinary action.”
Beyond the declaration of emergency, Ejiofor outlined specific steps he said must follow immediately, including reinforced deployment of security and intelligence assets to Kwara State and neighbouring regions.
Transparent investigation
He also called for a transparent, independent, and time-bound investigation into the killings, with findings made public.
The lawyer insisted that accountability is essential to restoring public trust.
According to him, the Federal Government must also abandon what he described as evasive language and formally acknowledge the ideological and terrorist nature of the attacks.
“The nation now stands accused—by its citizens and by history—of counting the deaths of its own people through denial, inertia, and fatal hesitation,” he said.
Ejiofor further demanded immediate humanitarian relief, adequate compensation, and long-term support for the families of victims, stressing that sympathy without action is insufficient.
“Silence in the face of mass slaughter is no longer neutrality,” he said. “Minimisation is no longer caution. They have all become forms of complicity.”
He concluded by warning that history would judge the country harshly if decisive action is not taken.
“The dead of Woro Village demand more than tears,” Ejiofor said. “They demand truth, courage and action—now.”
