Group threatens to sue Arewa leaders over security outfit

Members of the Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) have threatened to drag Arewa leaders, who are opposed to the establishment of Northern regional security outfit, Operation Shege Ka Fasa to court, insisting that the security challenges facing the North have- justified the launching of the outfit.

A statement by CNG Spokesman, Abdulazeez Sulieman, said Nigerians have come to terms with the sad reality of deteriorating national security, whereby large populations, particularly in Northern communities have been exposed to severe insecure conditions that have taken a huge toll on life and property, with only weak and ineffective responses from government.

He said: “While those in authority remain helpless, unwilling, incapable and overwhelmed, the need for citizens’ action began to manifest across the nation, with organised regional self-protection initiatives. In the North, a docile section of the ruling elite, as usual, remained complacent, while the vulnerable population is being decimated and citizens exposed to terror, fear and uncertainties…

“With the upsurge in wanton killings and destructions by unchecked banditry, kidnappings, rampant drug abuse, decade-old terrorist insurgency, sectarian/communal violence and general restiveness that take a huge toll on the region’s population, social cohesion and economy, the Coalition of Northern Groups unveiled a voluntary regional security initiative, codenamed Shege Ka Fasa in Kaduna, in February 2020.”

“While the general northern public welcomed the initiative as the only sure way of complementing the weak and insufficient national security efforts, quite predictably, the complacent section of the elite represented by state governors and a section of traditional and cultural leaderships, kicked against it without suggesting an alternative…”

Accusing the Northern governors and leaders of traditional institutions of being rhetorical in their opposition to the initiative, Suleiman said this stance had “inadvertently exposed the inconsistencies of Northern governors, who neglected to act on several recommendations made to them in the past, as well as leaders of traditional institutions, who appear more engrossed with their individual self-preservation…

“We find it ridiculous that several months after the governors rejected the Shege Ka Fasa initiative, they are still unable to come up with an alternative security arrangement, while the killings go on, including attacks on schools and abduction of school children.”

In a related development, CNG has vowed to challenge the Corporate Affairs Commission’s (CAC) refusal to register the security outfit in court.

The CAC’s reply to the Coalition’s application for registration, made available to newsmen, showed that the commission denied the organisation registration, due to what it termed “Name misleading with the word security.”

The letter, through a CAC official, Omekwe Paul Kode, dated March 9, 2020, read: “Notice of Denial: The CAC regrets to inform you that it was unable to approve any of the name(s) submitted for approval.”

However, the Coalition while addressing journalists, yesterday, at Arewa House, Kaduna, vowed to explore all legal means, until the security outfit is duly registered, saying the Attorney General of the Federation had been intimated on the development.