Northern coalition asks Buhari to sack service chiefs over insecurity

A coalition of northern youth groups has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the service chiefs over the rising insecurity in the region.

In a statement on Monday, the coalition under the auspices of Coalition Against Killings in Northern Nigeria (CAKIN) and the Northern Groups Coalition (NGC) lamented the destruction of lives and properties by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents.

The coalition issued a 14-day ultimatum for the federal government to address the security challenges or it will mobilise its members for protest and shut down the government.

“It is on a sad note that this coalition wishes to remind the federal government and government at all levels, that the primary responsibility of government anywhere, particularly the one that was democratically elected by voters, is to protect the lives and property of citizens,” the coalition said.

“Alas, five years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, instead of reducing insecurity, it has escalated thereby exposing great numbers of our people to avoidable deaths and loss of property in a manner that history has never witnessed before.

“As patriotic citizens, it is our constitutional duty to raise voices and call attention to the killings that is taking place across states of the Northern regions on a daily basis and mobilise citizens on how to constructively engage government at all levels and make demands to end the killings.

“A total overhaul of the leadership of the nation’s security apparatus and inject higher levels of competence, integrity and accountability.

“The coalition is saying enough is enough and an end must be put to the mindless killings of our people particularly in the villages, and the non-challant attitude displayed by government and its agencies to the plights of people going through horrific experience in the hands of criminals that seemed to have overwhelmed our security agencies.”