The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for an immediate declaration of a state of emergency in Katsina and Zamfara States to stem the tide of bloodshed in those places and restore order.
ADC in a statement by interim National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the massacre of worshippers and villagers in Malumfashi, Katsina State, is proof of the total collapse of national security architecture.
The party stated that the carnage in Katsina comes on the heels of the recent killings in Zamfara State, where 47 people were slaughtered, including 38 hostages murdered even after ransom was paid.
It added that no fewer than 45 more Nigerians have been killed in Zamfara, with entire villages ransacked, and dozens abducted, only a month earlier.
“Taken together, over 140 Nigerians have been murdered in just two months in Katsina and Zamfara alone,” ADC said.
The party said it is disheartening that instead of confronting these urgent national tragedies with the seriousness that they demand, President Bola Tinubu continued to jet out of the country chasing photo-ops.
“We wish to remind Mr. President that diplomacy abroad is meaningless if safety and security at home cannot be guaranteed.
“We also call on President Tinubu and his government to embark on total re-evaluation of Nigeria’s national security architecture, which has already proven incapable of protecting lives and property.
“The recent call by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) for citizens to acquire self-defence skills is perhaps the most honest indicator yet that there is a need to rethink the entire internal defence system,” ADC said.
The party also condemned the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors to hold their political meeting in Zamfara on Saturday, only a few days after scores of innocent citizens were slaughtered in that same state.
It added that instead of the governors to rally around their beleaguered colleague to help stop the orgy of killings, “they chose to stage a political rally at the scene of mass murder, even if it meant trampling on the memory of the victims.
“The photos of PDP governors in full ceremonial robes, grinning for the camera is totally out of place in an environment that still reeks of so much blood and sorrow.
“This act alone further underlines an important fact: neither the ruling APC nor the incurably afflicted PDP care about the people and their suffering. They only care about power and politics.”
