Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has blamed the surge in terror attacks in the country on the nation’s slow criminal justice system.
Atiku who reacted to the renewed killings in Plateau, Borno and Benue States, also blamed the attacks on the delay in the prosecution of captured terrorists and bandits who are still in custody since 2016.
“Our criminal justice system is notoriously slow and as a result, terrorists and bandits are thus encouraged to feel that crime pays,” Atiku regretted.
In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, the former vice president, noted that “Hundreds of terrorists and bandits have been in custody since 2016 without trial, and the delay in bringing them to justice is demoralising to our security forces.
“If terrorists and bandits are captured and then are left in custody longer than necessary without trial, it will undermine the efforts and sacrifices of our security forces.
He called for special courts to fast-track the trial and conviction of terrorists in the country, and called on the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, to accord such prosecution highest priority.
“If the government had applied the same energy in the prosecution of terrorists and bandits as it did in the trial of political critics, it would have gone a long way to send a powerful message to the outlaws that there are consequences for mass murder,” Atiku said.
He also expressed “embarrassment at how armed criminal groups cross through our borders to carry our terrorist activities in Nigeria.”
The former vice president stated that the upsurge of the attacks were indicative of the woeful failure of both the security policy and infrastructure of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He said: “Every sincere Nigerian should be worried about the frequency and impunity with which terrorists and bandits attack innocent people in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria, which has become the epicenter of terrorist violence in the country.”
He added that condemnation of terrorist attacks by the government is not enough, and called on the Federal Government to take tougher proactive measures to deal with what he called “these disgraceful incidents that challenge our national security.”
Atiku called on the National Assembly to urgently introduce a legislation to allow state governments to adequately arm their security outfits with modern weapons to complement the efforts of the security forces who appear to be overstretched in terms of men and resources.
Atiku applauded the sacrifices of the security forces in counter-terrorism operations.
He condemned the activities of community members who serve as informants to armed groups, and said that community members have a role to play by providing intelligence to the security forces about the presence and activities of bandits and terrorists in their midst.
