Insecurity: Protesters In Northern Nigeria Call For National Summit On Security

The Nigerian government has been told to take decisive action against terrorists who are killing innocent citizens in the northern region of the country, and not issue condemnations alone each time there is an attack.

A coalition of activists from the north of the country, who organised peaceful protests across Kano, Bauchi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Friday, Dec. 10 to express dissatisfaction on the ongoing carnage in the region, requested the “Nigerian State to  convene a national summit on security with the sole purpose of ending this state of anarchy.” 

The protest took place at Audu Bako Secretariat, State Road, Kano, and Unity Fountain in Abuja. 

The protest, which followed a recent terror attack on passengers in Sokoto State, northwestern Nigeria, in which over 30 persons were burnt to death, is expected to last throughout northern Nigeria until the protesters’ demands are met. 

The protesters who carried  placards and chanted songs, described northern Nigeria as a region in a state of anarchy.

They added that all “security forces and agencies that have frequently been deployed in recent times to ensure successful elections should be immediately deployed to all theatres of insecurity across the country.” 

“We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to expose all financiers of all insecurity, as promised by both Mr. President and the AGF, and make them face the full wrath of the law,” the Coalition said in a joint statement issued during the protest.

“If the President cannot guarantee peace, security, and the lives and properties of Nigerians who voted for him, we respectfully request that he resign.” 

“We hereby unequivocally declare and submit that no Nigerian blood is less sacred than that of his compatriots from any part of Nigeria…enough of the unwanted politicisation of our killings and wasting of our lives.” 

“We are no longer satisfied with the constant ‘condemnation’  of the actions of criminals among us, and we hereby call on the state to effectively subject all criminals to law and order by arresting and trying them in courts.” 

Rahma Abdulmajid, one of the protesters in Abuja, said the protest was called off early today to allow Muslims, who make up the majority of the protesters, to pray. However, she stated that the protest would continue tomorrow. 

“The plan is for the protest to take place in all states in northern Nigeria,” she explained. She went on to say that protesters will use available digital means to hold the protest online and to share what happens live. 

Previously, similar protests were organised in northern Nigeria.

Terrorist attacks and kidnappings for ransom have increased in northern Nigeria across all of its subregions. 

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has continued to stage attacks on government forces and capture civilian areas from the Northeast. 

Terrorists, known locally as bandits, have also organised pillages, imposed taxes on civilians, and attacked motorists on the Northwest’s major highways. 

In the North-central, communal violence and Jihadist infiltration have made it difficult for people to live in peace. Boko Haram elements are said to control large swaths of Niger State.