2,545 safety personnel killed in 4 years, says group
<!– tmc_ads_send({ “data-tmc-application”: “240527QJBmDrni”, “data-tmc-seat”: “240527FGR657jX” }) –>
The Advocacy Centre for Development has lamented the killing of two,545 safety officers, and 17,886 civilians and the kidnapping of 15,597 individuals from 2019 to 2023.
Disclosing this on Friday in Gombe State on the finish of a one-day roundtable engagement with stakeholders on National Day of Mourning, the Convener and Team Lead, Ibrahim Yusuf, blamed the political class for the wanton killings.
This yr marks the seventh National Day of Mourning, as declared by the Joint Nigeria Crisis Action Committee on May 28, 2018.
The day was known as to denounce the extent of impunity and frequency of violent killings within the nation.
An announcement in 2018 by Chidi Odinkalu, Yemi Adamolekun, Abiodun Baiyewu, Ier Jonathan-Ichaver and Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani) on behalf of the Co-Ordinating Committee of JN-CAC stated the day of nationwide mourning would witness a set of actions for remembrance, solidarity and awakening to the challenges confronting the nation.
Speaking on the seventh version in Gombe, Yusuf decried the reckless use of the army in civil issues, calling for an finish to killings and abductions within the nation.
Yusuf stated, “The killing of 2,545 security officers and 17, 886 civilians as well as abduction of 15,597 persons from 2019 to 2023 across the country were the clear absence of political will.”
While lamenting the surge in atrocities in opposition to ladies, youngsters, Persons with Disabilities, college students, academics and essentially the most susceptible, colleges and establishments of studying, he regretted that the federal government appeared unwilling to take pressing motion to guard the demographics.
“The armed forces are deployed in all 36 states of Nigeria on inside safety operations, thereby retrenching the constitutional function of the Nigeria Police Force. This is a constitutional anomaly. The rise in fatalities from army operations reveals that the army is over-stretched. This can not proceed.
“Here in Gombe State, we have issues of farmer/herder clashes in some communities of the state during the rainy season and we are calling on the state government and the security agencies and the traditional institutions to do the needful, without fear or favour, by putting an end to the issues of unrest in the state,” he stated.
He lauded as well timed, the institution of the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs and and the inauguration of Operation Hattara and Gombe Security Traffic and Environmental Corps by the Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya.
“As Nigerians bleed, we have come together on this seventh National Day of Mourning to ask the people in authority to take urgent steps in preventing the menace,” he stated.
The group, in a 10-point communique signed by Saidu Malala, chairman; Abubakar Jibrin, member; and Garba Ubale, member; requested communities to take part in offering helpful, well timed and correct info to safety operatives.
It known as for the reactivation of the roles of conventional establishments in society and, the reintroduction of instructional marshals in colleges to protect in opposition to drug abuse, youth restiveness and different social vices.
It added, “Religious leaders ought to always preach the gospel of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding of their locations of worship.
“Operators of social media handles and platforms ought to chorus from posting unverified info which will set off friction between communities.
“Conventional media have been described as key gamers in sensitising the general public on the significance of peaceable coexistence.
“Proactive measures to be taken by each safety operatives and residents in bringing lasting peace within the nation.
“The roundtable also emphasised peaceful coexistence among communities, irrespective of the diverse ethnic, cultural, political and religious settings in the country.”
