ADP flays Buhari, APC over rising insecurity in Oyo, other states

The Action Democratic Party (ADP), yesterday, decried the poor handling of security in the country, exacerbated by terrorism, herdsmen attacks, banditry and kidnappings, among others.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Adelaja Adeoye, the party said in spite of constant calls by Nigerians and lawmakers for President Buhari to replace the service chiefs, he has been adamant, while the security situation continued to deteriorate.

It said the constitution was clear on the President’s primary responsibility, which is to secure life and property of citizens, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or region.

It urged President Buhari to live up to his responsibilities of securing residents of Oyo State where cases of kidnapping, banditry and herdsmen invasion have been on the increase.

The party had raised an alarm on the invasion by some Islamic fundamentalists, who were camped at Oke-Ogun area of the state, a border post to some international communities, lamenting that there had been no response from the government.

“The activities of bandits and other criminals terrorising, kidnapping, killing and maiming residents around Oke-Ogun, Saki, Ibarapa and other areas, are becoming unbearable.

“This has led to several protests in those areas, resulting in calls for urgent collaboration between the Federal and state governments with a view to effectively tackling the increasing insecurity,” the statement reads.

Adelaja, however, commended security agents for their efforts, while stressing the need for President Buhari to review their operations and introduce new strategies that would boost their effectiveness.

He also charged stakeholders in the Southwest to reject what appeared to be importation of insecurity into the region and canvass more support for the Amotekun Corps to curb criminality.

Insisting that a review of the security situation across the country showed weak security architecture, the party also cautioned politicians in the Southwest All Progressives Congress (APC) against playing politics with insecurity.

It admonished them to come together and avoid names calling or the blame game, as everyone was open and vulnerable to the security challenges in the country.

Adelaja said it was unfortunate that governors lacked powers to control Federal police, who were at the whims and caprices of the President, adding that only the President had the constitutional powers to order the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and commissioners of police (CPs) in the states to act on any security issues.

“Reports of kidnappings in Lagos, Ekiti, Kogi, Benue, Ogun, Ondo, Niger, Kaduna, Enugu and other states have continued to heighten tensions in the country. Unfortunately, people have been blaming the governors, who are not constitutionally empowered to summon the police and other security agents to action,” he said.

The party, however, insisted that the security situation required restructuring and devolution of powers for a workable system that could effectively protect Nigerians to evolve.