The North is the worst place to live in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, said on Thursday.
He stated this about the same time governors of the six northeastern states met in Yola, Adamawa State where they lamented the security challenges bedevilling the region and also sort for power to prosecute Boko Haram suspects.
- Bandits kill 5, abduct Imam, 30 other congregants in attack on Zamfara village
- Kidnapped Nasarawa APC chairman found dead
While speaking at the 4th Quarter Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Sultan Abubakar lamented insecurity and high cost of living, saying there must be deliberate action to address the issues.
The outcry by the Sultan came few days after a call by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle raging insecurity in the North.
The Sultan, who is also the Co-Chairman of NIREC, said the poor people that form the majority were suffering.
He, however, noted that people should not behave irresponsibly and expect that the country would be a better place for them.
“We have security problems in the country. Bandits now go into people’s houses to kidnap and not on the highway anymore. In the last couple of days, they are going into institutions. In Zaria, they went to ABU and the polytechnic and took away people,” he said.
The Sultan said that in the North West, in particular, people can’t sleep with their eyes closed and lamented that even on Wednesday, a village was razed down in Sokoto but people don’t hear about such incidents.
“The insecurity in the North is so high that people are afraid of travelling from Funtua (Katsina State) to Zaria (Kaduna State); a journey of about 48 or 50 miles. This is not to talk of from Sokoto to Abuja or Kano.
“We know what we are going through. We are so insecure in the North that people are losing hope. People keep things in the house so that when the bandits come, they would let them be free.
“A couple of weeks ago, 76 people were killed in Sokoto by bandits in a day, it is not seen as a story because I went there with the governor of Sokoto but you don’t hear these stories because it happened in the North and we don’t have the media that is strong enough to bring out these atrocities by the bandits; so people think that the North is secure.
“The North is not secure at all; in fact, it is the worst place to be in this country because bandits go about in villages with their AK47 and nobody talks to them. They stop at the markets and buy things and even collect change with their weapons,” he said.
While lamenting the high cost of food and cost of living in the country, the Sultan said, “Food prices are on the increase and we need to do something about it. The cost of onion is too high and beyond the reach of many people.
“A hungry man is an angry man. The rising cost of foodstuff in the markets is an issue. The high cost of onions in Nigeria today is an insight into the current economic hardship in the country.
“I think we need to sit down and look at these issues…We do not lack recommendations and solutions to our problems. What we lack is implementation and that sense of purpose to do the right thing. We don’t like doing the right thing, we always want to cut corners,” he said.
On the recent #EndSARS protests, the Sultan said, “We have heard people calling for the scrapping of SARS.
“The president has done that and we later said bring police back. We cannot do without the police; we cannot do without our security agencies. No matter (how) bad the security agencies are, there are still excellent officers.
“What we need to do is to fish out the bad elements from the security agencies and to reform the agencies and make them better,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Co-Chairman of NIREC, Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, appealed for a concerted effort from Christians and Muslims to contain social vices including rape.
He called on the government to address the concerns raised by the #EndSARS protesters instead of clamping down on them.
On his part, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, regretted that Nigeria was still faced with insecurity.
“Today, despite all efforts including the deployment of enormous resources, our country still faces a measure of insecurity, which is impacting negatively on our economy, social life, education of children and young persons, investment and remains a threat to lives and livelihood,” he said.
He said the theme for this 4th Quarter 2020 meeting ‘Questing for peace in the challenges of insecurity and COVID-19’ was apt considering that peace and security were critical ingredients for growth and development.
He urged NIREC to use its traditional and religious capacities to further escalate its outreach to all Nigerians especially the youths at the grassroots.
Gunmen kidnap 4 near Abuja
Gunmen have abducted four persons at Mararaban Kuchichanchan, along Pai road, Kwali Area Council of the FCT.
A resident of the area, who preferred anonymity, said a retired government director narrowly escaped after the gunmen hit him with a stone and left him in the pool of his blood.
He said the incident happened around 5 pm on Wednesday when the gunmen suddenly appeared from a nearby bush with guns and flagged down a vehicle conveying the retired director. He said the director, who was seated in front, was trying to open the door to come out of the vehicle when one of the miscreants used a big stone and smashed the windscreen of the vehicle.
The source said the director was dragged out of the vehicle and also ordered his driver to lie down by the roadside.
According to him, the gunmen flagged down another Hilux vehicle coming from behind and took away the driver and one other occupant alongside the driver of the retired director.
The retired director was reportedly left behind after the attackers discovered he was unconscious.
The FCT police command has confirmed the abduction in a statement by its spokesperson, ASP Maryam Yusuf.
3 Zamfara communities lament latest siege by bandits
People of Sabon Sara, Tungar Haya and Magami in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Thursday called for help following the latest attacks on them by bandits.
Daily Trust reports that during the attacks, three persons were killed and residents forced to flee the communities although the spokesman for the Zamfara Police Command, SP Muhammad Shehu said two, not three communities were raided by the armed criminals.
He said the attack was a reprisal and it came after the outlawed local vigilante group known as Yan Sakai attacked and killed three herdsmen earlier.
But one of the community leaders of the affected villages said they were vulnerable living at the mercy of bandits.
“Our lives are constantly in danger,” he said. “We can’t access our farms and sadly, even while living at home, the bandits find pleasure in coming to kill us without any reason.
“Government should help by protecting us. We are not interested in anything or asking of anything from the government but peace and security,” he said.
Kidnappers of Zamfara imam, 18 others demand N38m
Meanwhile, abductors of the Imam of Dutsen Gari community of Kanoma District of Maru Local Government and 18 others have placed N2 million ransom on each of the kidnapped victims.
Family sources told Daily Trust that after many days of silence, the abductors had called and demanded that N2 million be paid as ransom for each of the kidnapped victims.
“They called and asked for N2 million on each person and we told them that we can’t afford it,” one of the family members said.
The Imam and 18 others were kidnapped last Friday while they were observing the Juma’at prayer in their community. Five people were also killed during the raid.
We want power to prosecute terror suspects
During their meeting in Yola on Thursday, the North East Governors’ Forum (NEGF) called on the federal government to grant the states powers to prosecute terror suspects.
This was disclosed by Borno State governor and Chairman of the forum, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum.
Governor Zulum wondered why only the Attorney-General of the Federation had powers to handle terrorism-related cases, saying the process of moving suspects to Abuja for the prosecution was difficult.
Expressing concern about the rising cases of banditry and kidnapping in the region, Zulum called for an effective strategy to deal with the matter and ensure adequate protection for the people.
“The twin scourge is assuming a worrisome dimension in the North East as it is becoming rampant and widespread. Inter-state road travel is becoming a virtual impossibility for the people due to palpable danger of abduction along most major roads.
“It is a matter of strategic imperative for us to give considerable attention to how to deal effectively with the problem and give our people a sense of sufficient and sustainable protection whenever they travel out,” he said.
He further noted that the forum had resolved to checkmate the excesses of violent preachers to prevent the promotion of extremist ideology.
Speaking earlier, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, who noted the commitment of the forum to a peaceful and economically viable North East, called for a robust plan for resettling all internally displaced persons.
He called for a collaborative effort against kidnapping in the region to allow people and farmers to work without fear of being kidnapped.
“There is so much we can achieve if we work together,” Fintiri concluded. The Yola was the third since the inaugural meeting in Gombe in March 2020 and the second held in Maiduguri in August.
Governors in attendance yesterday were Bala Mohammed and Inuwa Yahaya of Bauchi and Gombe states. Governors Darius Ishaku of Taraba and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe were represented by their deputies, Engr. Haruna Manu and Idi Gubana.
Nigeria becoming ungovernable-Afenifere
The Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, said on Thursday that Nigeria is on the brink of collapse, insisting that the country must restructure to survive the near precipice.
“The truth is that the country has virtually become ungovernable and unless we restructure and restore Nigeria to federalism, the country is on the brink of collapse and God should save us from the worst-case scenario,” Afenifere said.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its national caucus meeting held at the Akure country home of its leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
In the communiqué signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere asked the federal government to immediately implement the report of the 2014 national conference. The group also called on the federal government to immediately open Seme borders and three other borders in the Southern part of the country.
“As Nigeria enters the worst recession in 33 years and the second in five years of the Buhari government, we are equally besieged by attendant poverty as well as insecurity worsening across the land with kidnappers, armed robbers and bandits on the prowl and government helpless and unable to govern effectively.”
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