Insecurity: NYCN Urges President Buhari To Declare Bandits As Terrorist |The Source

By Akinwale Kasali

The National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare, and label the invading bandits across the nation terrorists, as a major move towards curbing their criminal acts.

The Group in a  statement on Sunday by the Vice President, Southwest,  Comrade ‘Dotun Omoleye, claimed that declaring those behind rampant kidnappings as terrorists has become necessary for proportional actions to be taken against them by the security agents.

The NYCN expressed worries at the bandits’ deliberate attempt to frustrate the resolve of the Government with incessant, but similarly audacious kidnap of defenseless students in their schools and mindless abduction of Nigerians in their homes, on the unsafe road and even on the farm.

“President Buhari’s declaration that Jangebe, Zamfara abduction would be the last in the series of schools’ attacks and renewed boldness by bandits to strike again, where they went away with a number of female students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Mando area of Kaduna State on Thursday night is not only unfortunate but regrettable, inhuman and unacceptable.

“This is the latest of the endless major attacks on public schools in Nigeria this year alone after the abductions in Kagara and Jangebe in Niger and Zamfara states.

“The attack on the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, coming just few days after gunmen attacked FAAN’s quarters in Igabi Local Government area of the state is becoming an eyesore, and a wake-up call on the government to appropriately designate these enemies of the State as terrorists following the determination of President Buhari’s opposition to negotiating with these bandits,” Omoleye stated.

The youth advocate, therefore, urged President Buhari to hasten the declaration before more citizens, particularly the youths begin to perceive and embrace kidnapping as lawful and lucrative business should government become helpless to the plights of their victims that continue to increase by the day.

Omoleye cautioned against any form of sympathy for bandits whose activities have clearly proven to pose serious threats to the peace of the people and the national security.

He, however, charged the President to show strong leadership and political will against all forms of criminality, including insurgency and banditry, by leading the battle from the front.

“Without doubt, if we do not want our nation to be overrun by violent and gun-wielding criminals by whose activities the peace and stability of our nation is becoming fragile daily; the Federal Government must be courageous enough to bandy these enemies as terrorists as they do not deserve the perceived pampering they’re currently enjoying.

“We salute the sacrifices of the Nigerian security agencies towards protecting the people but it is becoming obvious that unless these bandits are so classified, the presidential directive to shoot holders of illegal AK-47 may not yield productive results,” Omoleye noted.