TheCable

Kingsley Moghalu, former presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), says the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to curb insecurity is forcing Nigerians to resort to self-defence.

In a statement on Monday, Moghalu condemned the killing of “innocent” northerners in Oyo state, adding that the tension between herders and farmers in the south-west could lead to reprisal attacks.

TheCable had reported the violence that broke out in Shasha market, Akinyele area of Oyo, which led to the loss of lives and destruction of properties.

Moghalu called on Buhari to act decisively and end kidnapping and banditry, saying no one should be above the law.

“The failure of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to end the menace of criminal herdsmen and bandits throughout Nigeria (in both northern and southern states) has led to the stigmatization of the Fulani and other ethnic groups for the crimes of a few,” he said.

“The failure of our authorities to deploy effective security and law enforcement action against these criminals has also created a dangerous vacuum that is increasingly filled, unsurprisingly, by self-defense measures by several communities across the country.

“This could lead to reprisals based on ethnic profiling. In this context, I deplore the recent killings of innocent Nigerians of Northern extraction in Oyo State.

“As a Nigerian who has played a role in international efforts to rebuild several failed states after destructive internal conflicts including Rwanda after the genocide in 1994, I know firsthand where such trends can lead. I call upon President Muhammadu Buhari to act decisively to end the scourge of killer herdsmen and bandits.

“It is a clear augury of state failure when, in any part of Nigeria, terrorists of any description can attack defenseless civilians without consequence. Clearly, the Nigerian state has lost its monopoly of the use of force.

“This is time for leadership by President Buhari. No one is, or should be, above the laws of Nigeria. We simply cannot have a country in which the authorities act decisively to squash peaceful protests by citizens but appear impotent against terrorists and terrorism.”