Banditry: FG urged to declare emergency in worst-hit areas

The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called for a declaration of a state of emergency in parts of the country worst hit by banditry.

The Executive Director of the centre, Zikirullahi Ibrahim, made the call in Abuja Thursday at a press conference on the state of the nation.

• Reps want Makurdi-Jos-Maiduguri rail line repaired
• Auditor-General uncovers multi-billion naira ‘fraud’ in N/Assembly

He said this would signal a fresh resolve to tackle the insecurity threatening Nigeria’s corporate existence.

He condemned the assassination of a serving commissioner in Katsina State, a member of the House of Assembly in Kaduna State and other Nigerians.

“Before our eyes, our country is literally burning, and there appears to be no concerted and sustained efforts to put out the fire. 

“Things have become so bad that farmers can no longer engage in their occupation, without the fear of being killed by armed assailants.  Given the enormity of the situation, the only way out is for the government to arrest and expose the backers and sponsors of terrorist gangs, whom it claims it knows.”

“Government should also take a critical look at all the recruitment into the military, police and Department of State Security Service and other security agencies to be sure the right people are in charge of running Nigeria’s security architecture.

“Government should immediately declare a state of emergency in parts of the country, which have witnessed the most horrendous atrocities against innocent citizens. Invoking emergency powers will signal a fresh resolve to tackle the existential threat of insecurity, just as it would enable the government to summon all the required human and material resources to restore its authority in the most affected parts of Nigeria,” Ibrahim said.

On the worsening economic situation in the country, the CHRICED boss said that the inflation rate has gone beyond control, leading to the astronomical rise in the cost of living, even as this is reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Consumer Price Index.

He said, “Government should also respond to the astronomical cost of basic commodities by mandating its economic team to come up with measures, which could stabilize the prices of essentials like cooking gas, food stuffs, healthcare and building materials.”

He also condemned the reported attempts to stifle the voices of activists and human rights campaigners, noting that attacks and threats against journalists and human rights activists intensified all through the year and must end immediately.

Speaking on the 2023 General Elections, Ibrahim said that notwithstanding the myriad of challenges in the polity, 2022 will present another important opportunity for Nigerians to work towards overhauling the polity, using the instrumentality of the 2023 elections.

Ibrahim said, “Given the fact that the off-cycle elections conducted so far have been blighted by voter apathy and low participation of the electorate, it is important to reform Nigeria’s electoral process before 2023. As such, President Muhammadu Buhari must rise to the occasion by assenting to the Electoral Act amendment, which the National Assembly has passed and transmitted to him.”