‘FG inefficient to tackle insecurity’ — Atiku gives reason for backing Amotekun

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the federal government is “too inefficient” to tackle the growing insecurity in the country.

In an article he wrote on Tuesday, Atiku once again backed the south-west security outfit tagged “Amotekun”, saying self-defence is not an international human rights.

Governors of the six south-west states had launched the security outfit to tackle challenges of insecurity including kidnapping and banditry in the region, but the federal government said the outfit was illegal.

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, said security remains the exclusive preserve of the federal government, a stance some Nigerians and groups disagreed with.

In an article sent to TheCable, Atiku said there is too much insecurity in Nigeria, and that the security agencies are overstretched.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said there is nothing wrong with measures aimed at self-defence which he described as a right from God.

“To say that we do not need the services of those who are patriotic enough to voluntarily put their lives at risk to ensure the protection of the lives and property of Nigerians is to deny the obvious,” Atiku said.

He said he appreciates the dedication of groups such as the civilian joint task force and local vigilantes in helping boost security in across Nigeria, but added that “Nigeria has crossed the rubicon and cannot go back.”

“There is too much insecurity in the land and too much inefficiency from the Federal Government, leading to wanton and unnecessary loss of lives,” he also said.

“It is easy to think that all is well when you are in secure State Houses, but the reality is that the security situation is far from fine for the average Nigerian citizen.

“In such circumstances, people have an inalienable God given right to self defense. This divine right, as long as it is limited to self defense, cannot be declared illegal by man. Not by any stretch.”

Atiku advised the three arms of government to realise that people who have volunteered to provide the internal security — “that the government has not been able to provide” — need “encouragement and a legal framework and central support to make their dream of preserving the dignity of human life a reality.”

“Internal security is not a call for secession and we must abandon the paranoia that makes us see it as such,” he said, adding: “All calls for secession must be quashed by the might of the Nigerian state, no exceptions!”