Lasun Alagbe
A former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar,m has asked the Buhari government to declare a state of emergency in states where insecurity is rampant.
Such would include Borno and Katsina, where insurgency and banditry are rife.
Atiku made the call on Saturday in his response to the kidnapping of many students in Government Science Secondary School, Kankara in Katsina State.
Atiku said in a statement:
“I sympathise with the parents of the abducted children and the government and people of Katsina, my adopted home state and home of my late benefactor, Tafida Shehu Musa Yar’adua. I pray for their safe return.
“While I urge our nation’s law enforcement agencies to immediately swing to action and rescue the missing students, I am nevertheless conscious of the fact that we cannot continue to be reactionary in our response to the growing insecurity in Nigeria. Something has to give.
“I, therefore, call on the Federal Government to immediately declare a state of emergency in states bedeviled by banditry and terrorism, for an offensive and decisive war on terror and insecurity.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the emergency I call for should follow the steps prescribed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), and case law, by leaving all democratically elected state and local government structures intact.
“If we must get better results, we must implement better strategies. Strategies that may have to include the temporary stoppage of the boarding school system, in favour of a day students approach, until the situation is brought under control.
“Strategies that must include 24 hours armed military guard for each school in the affected states.
“No sacrifice is too great to make to return law and order to the affected communities, and that must be the singular focus of the Federal Government until this menace is eradicated.”
