Nigeria losing territory to Boko Haram, says APC rep

Haruna Dederi, a member of the house of representatives from Kano, says Nigeria is losing territories to Boko Haram insurgents. 

Dederi said this on Wednesday at the sitting of the house committee on judiciary.

The panel held the meeting with the leadership of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) over its ongoing strike.

While begging the union to suspend the strike, Dederi who is the deputy chairman of the committee, said Nigeria is witnessing “troubles everywhere,” adding that those who love the country will not be happy about its present situation.

“As I said earlier, everything we have discussed here has been in public domain. I am a lawyer by profession and I follow with keen interest the activities of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),” he said.

“You visited the Nigerian Bar Association and you had very lengthy discussion with the NBA. In fact, the sum total of what was given to you as a piece of advice, I think, centered completely around the comment that our colleague here asked.

“I asked those questions because I know that there are some states that have indicated willingness to comply.

“I deliberately refused to say that they have complied. It is safer to say they have indicated their willingness to comply. I know for sure that the federal government has complied completely.

“I want to follow the pattern of the comments of my colleagues. You seek equity and you are very correct. We are with you because we feel for you, we feel for Nigerians.

“Nobody is happy to see impunity. It is the bane of democratic development everywhere in the world, when you refuse to comply with the law.

“When you jettison the rule of law of course there will be chaos, there will be confusion everywhere and the polity will get sick and unfortunately it may even die.

“We are in solidarity with your strike but we are looking at the totality of the Nigerian situation. You know very well, we have too many things on our hands and it is not good for Nigerians. And whoever loves Nigeria would not be happy to see what goes on in this country the way it is going on.

“Banditry in the north-west has taken over villages and cows. Boko Haram is resurging. We are losing a lot of territories.

“We must be very frank, we have troubles everywhere and the nation is virtually in crisis everywhere. Please, please I want to appeal to you, to feel for Nigerians. People are suffering.

“See what is going on in our correctional houses today. See the kind of cases that are now coming to the police stations with no where to go. Please I want to appeal to you, in line with the appeal of my colleagues to please, please suspend the strike generally but more particularly, in relation to those who have either complied or has shown willingness to comply so that we can have some sanity.”