Don’t Be Passive On Killings Of Southerners In The North – Yoruba Assembly

By Ayodele Oni

The Yoruba Assembly, has flayed reactions from some groups  to the killing of 16 persons at Uromi, Edo state, last month.

The deceased persons, described as Hausa hunters were traveling for the Eid Fitri celebration in Kano when their vehicle was halted and attacked by a Vigilante group at Uromi.

The Federal Government, Edo and Kano States as well as groups and individuals have reacted to the incident with some of them calling for the trial of those involved in the incident.

Yoruba Assembly, at a security summit in Lagos condemned the brutal killing of the travelers, but flayed response to the incident, describing it as unfortunate.

In a speech at the summit, a Representative of the Group, Adewale Adeoye remarked that “The killing of 16 people in Edo State is unfortunate. We condemn it. No society should tolerate mob action.

“It is noteworthy too, that the response from a section of the country to the unfortunate killing of 16 people in Edo by agitated indigenes is a big lesson to leaders in the South and the Middle Belt.

“The core Northern leaders are calling for ultimatum to fish out the killers. They have set up a committee in Kano to fish out the killers. Unfortunately the same people have failed to show similar concern about the deaths, in hundreds,  of many of our people in the North West and North East.

“They keep quiet on the killings in the Middle Belt. The actions of the Northern leaders to the killing in Edo is a lesson to the people of Western Nigeria that they have to also show deeper concern to the plight of our people in the North who are daily victims of terrorism that the same Northern leaders have found no reason to condemn with nothing done by the government or the host communities to appease the victims and their families.

“It is also a wakeup call to our people that we need to hold accountable those who killed four traditional rulers in Yorubaland, who kidnapped school children in Emure, Ekiti State who sacked 2000 people from Yelwa in Ogun State and who bombed Owo in Ondo State.

“The responses to the Edo killing from a section of the country has shown clearly that the political leaders in Western Nigeria can do more to raise their voices against the killing of their own people right in their motherland.

“We have gathered here to chart a new cause in our collective desire to ensure our homeland is secure, safer and more conducive to live without the fear of terrorists and without the fear to die in the most humiliating manner.

“I hope we shall come with resolutions that will talk and walk in the most dignifying manner that would restore the floundering honour of our long suffering people.”