Afenifere decries spike in terrorism, kidnapping, others

• Restates Commitment To Community Policing
Concerned about the spike in insecurity resulting in losses of lives and property in the country, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has called on the Federal Government to change its style and confront the challenges appropriately.

Afenifere spoke against the backdrop of the latest kidnappings, terrorism and armed robbery incidents happening in various parts of Nigeria, including the South West.

In a statement issued by the organisation’s Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, the group expressed regret that the government under President Muhammadu Buhari was not doing enough to stop terrorism and kidnappings in the country.

The statement recalled the kidnapping of about 30 children working on a farm in  Mairuwa village in Katsina State; the abduction of travellers on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, including the former Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof Adigun Agbaje; the killing of dozens of people in Benue State, murder of a NECO staff by armed robbers on the campus of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan mid-week and the abduction of four travellers in Ekiti, as well as insistence of terrorists that farmers must pay them taxes before they can access their farms in Niger and Katsina states.

Ajayi said President Muhammadu Buhari, while presenting this year’s budget early October, gave the asurance that insecurity would be substantially curtailed before his tenure ends next year.  Since then, cases of kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and others, have escalated. Governments of the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, among others, have asked their citizens to stay away from Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

To underscore their seriousness, some of these governments have evacuated some of their diplomatic staffers.

While acknowledging the reported efforts of security agencies at checking the antics of bandits and terrorists, Ajayi submitted that the intensity, regularity and ferocity of terrorism acts in the country “tend to suggest that the terrorists and bandits are ahead of the government in the game.”

He expressed confidence that the government can tackle the problem by allowing states to have their own polices; government should stop treating arrested bandits and terrorists the kid gloves.

He urged the government to expedite action on the trials of apprehended terrorists and bandits, adding that equipment and incentives should be provided for security agencies to enable them discharge their duties effectively.