By Uche Mbah
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, has lamented the brazen way Bandits, believed in some quarters to be Fulani herdsmen, have overrun the cities of the North, complaining that it is largely ignored by the Southern dominated Press.
The Sultan’s allegation against the Media is surprising, given that for seven years and counting, the insecurity in.the North has been on the front-burner of media attention.
Recent reports, however, indicate that bandits have been going from house to house abducting people brazenly in broad daylight with security agencies seemingly helpless. The bandits have also formed the habit of taxing farmers before they allow them to harvest their products.
Critics of Security Agencies have, unfairly, accused them of being responsive to the security challenges in the South but appear non nonchalant towards the northern crisis. A criticism which has been dismissed as nonsense, given that all Security Heads in the country are from the North.
But the Sultan has lamented that bandits go around in the villages brazenly brandishing AK 47 assault rifles, unchecked by any security agents.
The Sultan raised the alarm in Abuja Thursday at the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC).
“Security situation in northern Nigeria has assumed a worrisome situation. It is regrettable that no strong media platform could report this story to the world.
“A few weeks ago, over 76 persons were killed in a community in Sokoto in a day. I was there alongside the governor to commiserate with the affected community.
“Unfortunately, you didn’t hear these stories in the media because it’s in the north. We have accepted the fact that the north doesn’t have strong media to report the atrocities of these bandits.
“People think north is safe, but that assumption is not true. In fact, it’s the worst place to be in this country. Because bandits go around in the villages, households, and markets with their AK-47. They stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed. These are facts I know because I am at the centre of it.
“I am not only a traditional ruler, but I am also a religious leader. So, I am in a better place to tell the story. I can speak for the north in this regard because I am fully aware of the security challenges there. We have to sincerely and seriously find solutions to the problem, otherwise, we will find ourselves soon, in a situation where we would lose sleep because of insecurity.
“As religious leaders, we must promote peace, love, unity, and tolerance among our followers. We will discuss all these issues at the close door session of the meeting and possibly come out with strong suggestions for government,” the Sultan of added.
Also speaking at the occasion, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Samson Ayokunle Olasupo, concentrated on the government’s defence of the recent hike in the price of electricity tariff and fuel while suing for caution while profiling the recent #endsars protests.
“That’s not what we sent them to do for us. The decision, evidently, has added to our pains, and they should reverse it as quickly as possible,” he said.
“As a man of God, I never saw the EndSARS protest coming. Maybe I am far from God. It came to us all unaware. Initially, I thought that the protest was organized by bad boys in society, but when I began to see and read stories of Police brutality, I was surprised and supported their actions.
“But attributing the actions of the angry youths to a particular religion or ethnic group is insincere and unsafe. No religious group was exempted from the effect of the protest. The action was a spontaneous action that cannot be attributed to any religion or ethnic group.”
But the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, defended the Security agencies and asked citizens to help combat crime.
“Today, despite all efforts, including the deployment of enormous resources, our country still faces a measure of insecurity which is impacting negatively on our economy, social life, education of the children and young persons, investment, and remains a threat to lives and livelihood,” he said.
