Killings, destructions getting out of hand- Northern elders

By Okodili Ndidi, Abuja

A group, Northern elders under the aegis of Northern Elders for Peace and Development, has lamented the worsening insecurity in the region, stating the development is getting out of control.

It called for urgent and drastic measures to halt the mindless killings and restore normalcy in the region.

Noting killings of security personnel and civilians since the beginning of the year was alarming the elders decried what they term as “under reportage of the situation by the media.”

The elders lampooned those entrusted with maintaining security in the region for not giving President Muhammadu Buhari, the true state of the security situation in the region, adding that “such act has further aggravated the situation in the entire region”.

The group, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Engr. Zana Goni, declared support for the President’s position that the government will not negotiate with the bandits or pay ransom while warning against further amnesty for the terrorists.

READ ALSO: Food blockade: Northern elders raise the alarm over negotiations

According to the elders, ransom and negotiation were two major ingredients fueling abductions and other nefarious activities of bandits and terrorists in the country.

“We write to decry the rising state of insecurity in the North East in particular and Northern Nigeria at large and the deliberate attempts by some very highly placed government officials to use some unpatriotic online media to downplay the true situation on the ground. This is unpatriotic and unacceptable to us.

“We wish to draw the attention of these unpatriotic elements to the fact that engaging in this unwholesome act and at the same time expecting different results is impossible,” the statement reads.

The group vowed never to be silent in the face of the worsening insecurity in their region, noting that “farmers were not going to their farms again beside the inability of residents to sleep with their eyes closed like in the past”.

They tasked security Chiefs to sit up and take necessary steps to end the security challenges and not “merely playing lip service”.