Coalition accused of plotting to undermine Buhari

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has been accused of being behind a fresh plot to blackmail and undermine President Muhammadu Buhari and the military across the north.

According to the Northern Patriots (NP), in disguise of fighting for the security of the region, the CNG has an ulterior motive.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja through Secretary-General, Samuel Daloba, the group said there is an aim to instigate a tribal war.

The Northern Patriots said it came to this conclusion after critically observing the recent activities in the northwest.

The Northern Patriots, however, implored Nigerians not take heed to “lugubrious media assertions that are peddling false news about insecurity updates from the north”.

The group further admitted that the president has so far proffered solution to the security situation.

“This press conference is scheduled on the dismal objectives on informing Nigerians of the activities of desperados and people acting under political instigation to undermine and blackmail President Buhari,” he said.

“The Northern Patriots having critically observed the recent activities of bandits in the north to the activities of the coalition of Nothern groups and their plans which have been encrypted in the disguise of fighting for northern security.

“The Northern Patriot’s state without mincing words that, It’s not special news that for more than two years now, northwestern Nigeria has faced devastating attacks from armed bandits, particularly in the states of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, and Sokoto. So many of these attacks are driven by many overlapping factors, including cattle rustling, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, illicit artisanal mining, youth unemployment, poverty, and inequality. This has been further compounded by the weakened, stretched, and demoralized security services, who are deployed in thirty-five of Nigeria’s thirty-six states and will soon enter the second decade of their war against Boko Haram, one of Africa’s deadliest terror groups. It is estimated that many of the armed bandits are of Fulani origin, as are many of the victims.

“Banditry, which includes armed robbery, murder, rape, and cattle-rustling, is present in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Senegal and Mali. This shows that these security matters are not only faced in Nigeria alone but also other African nations.

“Of late, we have observed that banditry has been on the increase in northern Nigeria. This is a region we know that is with many security problems, chief among them being Boko Haram’s insurgency. While the northern patriots were chanting the eulogy of the president and Nigeria Armed forces for their undisputed strategical efforts in bringing Boko Haram activities to great decline, we are shocked by the uprise and resistance that banditry has taken over time, and these actions have begged the question “How are they getting support?”

“We know that Boko haram has counted a lot of casualties, and felt decapitated in their technicality. Hence, they have resolved into using rural banditry as a supportive plan, this they have achieved by having a coalition with unpatriotic Northern Nigerians, who are being supported by Northern political desperados and persons under political instigation to blackmail president Buhari and to cause another trend of #EndSARS in northern Nigeria.

“They know that these are the people that have sufficient knowledge of the terrains and the security weak spots; these are the people that can easily be trusted to perpetuate their evil acts. For one thing, some of these communities are located in remote areas where there is little or no government presence. More importantly, households are in some cases separated by and interspersed with forest areas. This renders the people there vulnerable to banditry.

“The Northern Patriots are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that this armed violence is driven principally by the criminal intent to steal and plunder. It is motivated by the selfish quest for economic accumulation in destabilizing the calmness in the Northern states. From the information we got from some disarmed bandits that went on unsuccessful operations, with the help of the Nigeria armed force that subdued them, they confessed to being paid and sponsored by some elite group, who do not have the country’s interests at heart.

“It is heartbreaking to us, knowing that these bandits are no outsiders, but people in the same community and culture with us, that have allowed themselves to be used as weaponry for the cause disorderliness which is a menace to our security.

“To this effect, the incidence and prevalence of rural banditry in northwest Nigeria raise a fundamental question about the hidden plans of National coup which some have been nursing in their heart. The state security machinery has so far failed to tackle the scourge of banditry and this failure stems from a lack of political will and operational challenges.

“Unfortunately for them, Many Nigerians and Northern patriots are not oblivious of the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari has been relentless on his fight against banditry and insurgency.”