The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), in reaction to the abduction of 317 school children in Zamfara state, said Nigerians have lost faith in the federal government’s ability to protect them from criminals.
The Elders noted that the government has always assured Nigerians of securing them from bandits and criminals but that is yet to happen as insecurity has been on the rise.
In a latest incident, Gunmen had in the early hours on Friday, invaded Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Talata Mafara Local Government Area, Zamfara State, abducting 317 students. This happened days after the abduction of students and staff of Government Science School, Kagara, Niger state.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy, NEF, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement in Kaduna said Nigerians had “lost faith that government will reverse the successes of the criminal against defenceless citizens.”
He said the “Northern Elders Forum shares the profound shock and outrage of Nigerians at the spate of kidnappings of boarding school children in different parts of the North.”
The NEF spokesman stressed that, “apart from the likelihood of similar abductions re-occurring as bandits engage in copy cat crimes in a region that is basically unprotected, these abductions will severely damage the poor state of education in the North, particularly girl-child education.”
He regretted that, “It has become painfully obvious that the federal government is unable to muster the will or the capacity to limit exposure of Nigerians to violent criminals.”
According to him, governors have been left to quarrel over causes and strategies to adopt in tackling the bandits, alleging that many of the governors are “taking steps that have dubious legal foundations, most of which merely compound the security situation.”
The statement said: “In spite of assurances from the federal government that it will end banditry and kidnappings, the life of the Nigerian is becoming more endangered by the day, and citizens have lost faith that governments will reverse the successes of the criminal against defenceless citizens.
“The forum advises particularly Northern governors to explore all lawful avenues to improve the security of citizens.
“While they should improve their support to the military, the police and security agencies, they should also explore avenues which give them more powers to secure citizens within the confines of the constitution which gives states powers to establish policing structures, including those with specialization such as forest rangers should now be pursued as a matter of national priority.”
It further urged governors to also “intensify multi-pronged approaches to ending banditry and kidnappings, including measures which prevent the continuation of these criminal activities by those who show a genuine willingness to stop.”
Baba-Ahmed said, “Bandits who refuse to submit to mediation and cessation of criminal activities should be treated in accordance with the laws of the country.”
