Declare September 5 National Day of remembrance

The National Coalition Against Mass Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions and Impunity (NCAMKI), in alliance with the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organisation (GAFAMORG), has condemned the continuing cases of mass killings, terrorist attacks, kidnappings, extra-judicial executions and mob violence across Nigeria.

The groups said the country must not become a graveyard where the deaths of citizens are reduced to statistics, followed by condolences, promises of investigations and eventual silence.

“Every victim had a name. Every victim had a family. Every bullet leaves behind grief, trauma and a debt of justice that the state owes,” the organisations said in a joint statement.

In the statement signed by the Interim Secretary of NCAMKI, Agunbiade Tunde, on behalf of the coalition and in alliance with GAFAMORG, they called on the Federal, State and Local Governments to move beyond press statements and fulfil their constitutional responsibility to protect citizens, citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

According to the groups, this requires functional intelligence systems, effective early-warning mechanisms, rapid response, community protection, credible investigations and the prosecution of those responsible for violent crimes.

They also called for effective civilian oversight of security agencies and strict adherence to constitutional safeguards, stressing that no individual or group should be treated as being above the law.

NCAMKI and GAFAMORG said poverty, hunger, unemployment and hopelessness were among the conditions that could fuel violence and make vulnerable young people susceptible to recruitment by criminal and extremist groups.

“There can be no sustainable security without justice. There can be no peace without socio-economic justice,” they said.

The organisations rejected terrorism, banditry, torture, jungle justice, ethnic profiling, collective punishment and the proliferation of illegal arms.

They maintained that criminals should be identified, arrested and prosecuted through lawful, intelligence-led and accountable processes rather than through state vengeance or mob action.

The groups demanded accountability following every major violent incident, asking: “What warnings were ignored? Why did the security forces fail? Who will be held accountable? What is being done to ensure it never happens again?”

They said issuing condemnations after lives had been lost was not enough, stressing that justice must include prevention, protection, investigation, prosecution, compensation and systemic reforms.

NCAMKI and GAFAMORG also called on the Federal Government, National Assembly, State Governments, organised labour, civil society organisations, traditional and religious institutions and Nigerians generally to recognise and institutionalise September 5 as the National Civil Day of Remembrance for Victims of Mass Killings, Extra-Judicial Killings, Mob Actions and Impunity.

They said the proposed day should provide an opportunity to remember victims, honour survivors, support grieving families, document forgotten cases and renew the commitment that “no Nigerian life is expendable.”

“Remembrance must lead to justice. Justice must lead to accountability. Accountability must lead to reform,” the organisations said, adding that such reforms should help create a Nigeria where citizens can live without fear.

“The blood of innocent Nigerians must not be invisible. Enough of the killings. Enough of impunity. Enough of forgetting.

“Remember the victims. Demand justice. Defend human dignity.”