A coalition of nine Arewa youth groups yesterday gave the Federal Government 14 days ultimatum to address the security problem in the north or face ma
A coalition of nine Arewa youth groups yesterday gave the Federal Government 14 days ultimatum to address the security problem in the north or face mass action. This came on a day the indigenous people of Katsina State asked the government to declare a state of emergency in the state to stave off the frequent killings of innocent people by bandits.
This is even as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the 19 states in the north asked the federal government to tackle the high level insecurity in the region, even as convener of Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, yesterday replied the Presidency, saying his troops were millions of Nigerians.
In a statement in Kaduna, the coalition also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the service chiefs and abolish security votes for governors, saying such votes had outlived their usefulness. The statement was signed by Isa Abubakar of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria; Yerima Shettima of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum; Yusuf idris Amoke of Northern Anti-Corruption Front; Mohammed Salihu Danlami of Arewa Youth Assembly; and Murtala Abubakar of Joint Action Committee of Northern Youth Associations.
Others include Dr. Idris Mohammed of CUPS; Gambo Gujungu of Arewa Youth Forum; Muhammad Isah Imam of Northern Youth Forum; and Mikailu Abubakar of Arewa Defense League.
The statement read: “It is on a sad note that this coalition wishes to remind the Federal Government and government at all levels, that the primary responsibility of government anywhere, particularly the one that was democratically elected by voters, is to protect the lives and property of citizens.
“Recall that Nigerians, particularly Northerners, voted President Muhammadu Buhari enmass to power in 2015 in anticipation that as a former military head of state, and a retire General, he is positioned to deal decisively with all forms of threats to the security of our people, particularly challenges of Boko Haram that had caused hardship and unprecedented destruction of lives and economy activities.
“Alas, five years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, instead of reducing insecurity, it has escalated, thereby exposing great numbers of our people to avoidable deaths and loss of property in a manner that history has never witnessed before. It is our constitutional duty to raise voices and call attention to the killings that are taking place across states of the Northern region on a daily basis and mobilize citizens on how to constructively engage government at all levels and make demands to end the killings.
“The coalition is saying enough is enough and an end must be put to the mindless killings of our people, particularly in the villages, and the nonchalant attitude displayed by government and its agencies to the plights of people going through horrific experience in the hands of criminals that seem to have overwhelmed our security agencies is unacceptable. “The coalition strongly supports the idea of community policing and calls for its immediate implementation nationwide.
“The coalition reiterates here that enough is enough and it can no longer tolerate mindless killings of innocent citizens of northern Nigeria without the government doing much to stop it. The Coalition from today (yesterday), June 15, 2020, give a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government to end killings in the entire states of the north. After the expiration of this ultimatum, any reported case of killings will leave the coalition with no option than to mobilize citizens to take to streets until government does the needful.
Also yesterday, the indigenous people of Katsina who are based in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, called on the Federal Government to urgently declare a state of emergency in the state, following high level of insecurity in Katsina State. In a statement issued in Abuja, the indigenous people, acting under the aegis of Concerned Katsina Youth Vanguard, noted that recent developments leading to wanton killings of innocent people in the state was a testament to the fact that the state government could not guarantee the safety of lives and property of citizens of the state.
