Northern groups beg Tinubu to tackle fresh security challenges in Northern Nigeria

Worried over the lingering insecurity that has continued to bedevil most part of Northern Nigeria, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), has called on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to prioritise security in the region.

The Coalition, in a communiqué on Saturday after a press conference in Abuja, urged the President to, as a matter of urgency, “demonstrate a genuine commitment to addressing the security challenges in the North.”

The group cited the recent abduction of female students of Zamfara University, Gusau, and called on Tinubu to mandate security agencies to urgently secure the release of the students and reunite them with their families alive and safe.

Spokesman of the CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, who addressed journalists at a press conference, expressed the group’s concerns on the “frequency and regularity of attacks which have reached alarming levels,” emphasising that silence from the government is no longer an option while inaction from security operatives is unacceptable.

“The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has taken stock of events unfolding in Northern Nigeria in the last few months noting especially, with utter perplexity and concern, the disturbing increase in banditry and kidnapping activities, especially in rural areas of Zamfara and the frontline states of Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Kaduna.

“We find it regrettable that despite claims of success by the government security forces, the escalating rate of banditry and kidnapping have continued to claim precious lives, disrupt economic activities, and ruin livelihoods,” Suleiman said.

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“The kidnappings have disproportionately targeted school children and students, with several schools affected between June and August, forcing many schools to shut down and leaving both parents and students worried about their safety.

“The audacity of these crimes is striking and suspicious, as they occur even in broad daylight and on major highways, sometimes in the full glare of government security forces.

“We declare that CNG will remain firm in its stance that President Tinubu must display genuine commitment to addressing the security challenges in the North, departing from the usual approach. To show this determination, prompt action is required.

“We demand that those responsible for ensuring the security of Zamfara University, where the horrific incident of the attack and abduction of innocent girls took place, be held accountable and face appropriate punishment.

“Anything less than that would not be acceptable and he would be seen to have failed in the vital responsibility of providing security to the people.

“We call the attention of government to note the growing frustrated and mounting anger across the North and in particular the North-West arising from the general and pervasive insecurity being experienced while those charged with the responsibility of securing the lives and properties of citizens appear helpless or ill-prepared to act,” he added

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