Southern Middle Belt leaders accuse Nigerian govt of complicity in insecurity

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) on Saturday accused the Federal Government and security agents of complicity in the killings and kidnappings across the country.

In a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Abuja, the forum said “the ambiguity of the federal government and the failure of the security agencies to decisively deal with the criminals confirmed the beliefs that government officials and security agents are complicit in the problems ravaging the country.

The communique was jointly signed by Chief Edwin Clark, (PANDEF), Chief Ayo Adebanjo (Afenifere), Dr. Pogu Bitrus (Middle Belt Forum) and Amb. Okey Emuchay (Ohanaeze Ndigbo).

The group also decried increasing attacks on Churches and renewed its call for state police to tackle the criminals.

The communique read: “We condemn the incessant killings of the indigenous peoples and decimation of communities in the Middle Belt Region, in particular, the current escalated war on Southern Kaduna, targeting communities and Churches in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state with reports of helicopters dropping weapons and supplies to the terrorists in their locations;

READ ALSO: Insecurity: Afenifere renews call for state police, urges governors to meet Buhari, National Assembly

“SMBLF equally decried the continued confinement of victims of the Kaduna train attack in the terrorists’ labyrinth after 89 days as well as several other Nigerians who have been held by terrorists and criminals for months; calls on the Federal Government and security agencies to secure the safe release of all victims;

“Warns that the continuous abdication of the government’s primary and abiding constitutional responsibility of safeguarding the lives and properties of its citizens, is an irresistible signal to Nigerians to exercise their inalienable rights of self-defence, by all means, in defiance of extant laws, which have not deterred terrorists the use of weapons even superior to those of the security agencies;

“Reiterates the imperative of state police in the internal security architecture of the federation and urges the Federal Government and the National Assembly, to ensure the requisite legislative instrument in this regard rather than indulging in meaningless lamentations.”

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