Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has linked the ongoing kidnappings and killings in the northern parts of the country to a deliberately sinister plot to destabilise Nigeria and undermine the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Okpebholo disclosed this when he received leaders of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Edo State chapter, at the Government House, Benin City, on Wednesday.

“What they are doing is to fuel kidnapping because they want to distract and discredit Mr President,” the governor stated. “They did it to President Goodluck Jonathan. They succeeded then. It isn’t fair. They did this to Jonathan and succeeded but we have known their tricks already.”

Killings and kidnappings for ransom have escalated in recent times, forcing governments to close down schools, especially in Kebbi, Plateau, Niger, Kwara and others in order to ensure the safety of students.

Mr Okpebholo, who said a similar thing was done to former president Goodluck Jonathan, stated that no amount of intimidation would distract Mr Tinubu from performing his responsibility of ensuring the security of lives and property in the country.

“No matter the intimidation, we will not succumb to blackmail. The president is resolute,” he added.

Several people have alleged the renewed wave of attacks, especially in the North, was a calculated attempt to discredit Mr Tinubu’s administration. Sunday Karimi, a senator representing Kogi West, said recent bandits’ attacks in Niger and Kogi were meant “to cause panic and distract the president’s security agenda”.

Former Kaduna Central lawmaker, Shehu Sani, also alleged that armed terrorists unleashing terror in different parts of the country, especially the North-East and the North-West, were Muslim northerners and Fulani, respectively, dismissing the claim that the terrorists were from countries other than Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Mr Tinubu had declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered fresh recruitment into the Armed Forces to reinforce ongoing operations across the country.