By Aiyeku Timothy
The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to allow ordinary Nigerians to bear firearms to protect themselves.
Sagay, on Tuesday, emphasized the need for Nigerians to defend themselves as he noted that the government was overwhelmed by various security challenges such as Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, herdsmen attacks, etc.
According to him, the continuous unprovoked attacks, especially on villages by bandits, will drastically reduce in the country if the communities are allowed to arm themselves with weapons for self-defense.
He said, “The country has become so dangerous. All sorts of things are happening nowadays. You have kidnappers, bandits, Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram. The reality is that there is nowhere that is safe in the country. Travelling by road today is a very risky endeavour that one will hardly try. So, there is a total insecurity in the country.
“I don’t know what has gone wrong, why our people have become so violent and savage. Individuals no longer feel safe outside their own house. I am not even sure that one is safe in his own home.
“What I will like to suggest to the government is that it should allow ordinary Nigerians to carry arms. Everybody who wants to bear arms as a form of self-defence should be allowed to do so. This is necessary so that when these bandits and miscreants attack them, they will know that the person they attacked can defend himself.
“All these restrictions on owning weapons should be lifted. Let the public be allowed to own weapons, especially in all those villages where they are being massacred. Their men should be given weapons so that when the attackers come, they will also be given a challenge which may discourage them in future.”
