Afenifere condemns Buhari’s shoot-on-sight order in S’East

Says it is reckless, undemocratic

The Yoruba pan-socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has chided President Muhammadu Buhari on the shoot-on-sight order, describing it as reckless and undemocratic.

Afenifere, which frowned on the order, said the fate of the people of the South-East appeared to be in jeopardy.

The Acting Leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, in a statement, yesterday, raised concerns over the President’s directive of the “shoot-on-sight” order.

Adebanjo said: “The rising hostility against the South-East Zone since the beginning of the Buhari administration has now become a matter of great concern to Afenifere, as this reality should also become a major concern to other stakeholders in the Nigerian project.”

The Afenifere leader, who decried the situation where two sets of laws exist in the country — a set of laws where the Fulani go scot free and another, that the lives of others, especially that of the Igbo, do not matter.

“Taking a look at the Security Council, no Igbo man is a member of Buhari’s security architecture. Is that how to run a multi-ethnic multi-religious country like Nigeria?” he queried.

“One will assume that Nigeria is now a theatre of bloodshed as the streets are now lined with the blood of innocent Nigerians. With this draconian order, no opposition member is safe.

He said that if the President had no hidden agenda, there were more civilised and democratic ways to beef up security in the South East.

He, therefore, urged other leaders in the zones to condemn the shoot-on-sight order to prevent another looming massacre in the South-East zone, saying: “To prevent yet another looming massacre in the South-East Zone, leaders in other zones should condemn the shoot-on-sight order. The President must be told that if he is sincere about peace and unity of this country, the order should be revoked forthwith. Certainly, if the President has no hidden agenda, there are more civilised and democratic ways to beef up security in the South-East.”