Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar-led Jama’atu Nasril Islam has urged the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari to henceforth stop paying lip service to security matters.
In an apparent reference to the killings of 43 rice farmers by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State, the JNI also said that “nowhere is safe in the country now”.
The religious body noted that what Nigerians expected from the government was actions against insecurity and not a mere condemnation of attacks.
The JNI spoke through its Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Aliyu, in a statement issued in Kaduna on Wednesday.
The statement was titled, ‘ Requiem for Zabarmari’.
“We nevertheless, once again, call on the Federal Government to rise to its responsibilities and do well beyond the traditional condemnation, as lip service (s) on security matters should stop. Nigerians are desperately yearning for concrete actions,” the JNI said.
Specifically, the religious body said Saturday’s killings at Zabarmari village, Jere Local Government Area of over 40 rice farmers by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents without the intervention of security forces was condemnable.
It noted that with wanton killings occasioned by acts of banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other related crimes, Nigerians had been so terrified as nowhere was safe for them.
The group also knocked the Federal Government’s nonchalant attitude to sympathize with victims of the attack, noting that a quick visit to the area would assuage the feelings of the affected communities.
The JNI statement read in part, “Forty-three human beings as reported by the media, were slaughtered without any intervention by the security forces in the area. The senseless act stands condemned in the strongest of terms.
“Wanton killings, acts of banditry, kidnapping for ransom, high rate of unemployment among the youths, rape and all forms of terrorism have now become the new trend in our communities.
“Nigerians have become so terrified, as nowhere is safe; the home, the farms and the roads. Bandits now rule in many communities; they set rules that must be obeyed.”
