High-profile Killings: Declare Emergency On Security, Group Tells FG
The Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on security in Nigeria and invoke emergency powers to signal a fresh resolve to tackle the killings, insurgency and crime wavelength in the country, an international civil rights organization, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, suggested on Thursday.
CHRICED expressed disgust over the gruesome killing of a Commissioner in Katsina State and a member of the House of Assembly in Kaduna State, saying their deaths indicated that the perpetrators of the acts have no fear or respect for the capacity of the state to arrest, prosecute and bring them to justice.
The Executive Director of CHRICED, Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi, canvassed the suggestion during a press conference in Abuja.
He said, “In many cases, these outlaws not only kill, displace or inflict other forms of harm on Nigerians, but they are also now taking over swathes of spaces to further incubate their terror cells. Before our eyes, our country is literally burning, and there appears to be no concerted and sustained efforts to put out the fire.
“Things have become so bad that farmers can no longer engage in their occupation, without the fear of being killed by armed assailants. Given the enormity of the situation, the only way out is for the government to arrest and expose the backers, and sponsors of terrorist gangs, whom the government claimed it knows.
“Government should also take a critical look at all the recruitments into the military, police and Department of State Service and other security agencies to be sure the right people are in charge of running Nigeria’s security architecture.
“Finally, the government should immediately declare a state of emergency in parts of the country, which have witnessed the most horrendous atrocities against innocent citizens. Invoking emergency powers will signal a fresh resolve to tackle the existential threat of insecurity, just as it would enable the government to summon all the required human and material resources to restore its authority in the most affected parts of Nigeria.”
