By Aiyeku Timothy
The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and InspecÂtor 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 atÂtacks, etc.
According to him, the continuous unprovoked attacks, especially on villages by bandits, will drastiÂcally reduce in the country if the communities are allowed to arm themselves with weapÂons for self-defense.
He said, “The country has become so dangerous. All sorts of things are happening nowaÂdays. 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 hardÂly try. So, there is a total insecuÂrity in the country.
“I don’t know what has gone wrong, why our people have become so violent and savage. Individuals no lonÂger 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 NigeriÂans 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 chalÂlenge which may discourage them in future.”
