Security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, has condemned the massacre of 47 villagers by terrorists in three local government areas of Kastina State, calling it “a crime against humanity.” According to him, “the large scale massacres give the impression that Nigerian life is cheap.”
In a press release issued in Lagos, Ekhomu, who is the President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON) said that the terrorists, which some people also call ‘bandits, took advantage of the COVID-19 lockdown to carry out the bloody attacks. He asked: “How can about 450 terrorists operating on about 150 motorbikes sweep through three local governments, killing, maiming and looting and yet there is no law enforcement or military response?”
He said that the undue concentration of security forces in major cities is clearly a vulnerability in the nation’s security systems. He said that the Federal Government must hold the Commissioner of Police in Katsina State and the Military Commander there responsible for the security lapses that resulted in the preventable deaths.
Ekhomu raised an alarm that the nation is under siege by foreign jihadis and militias. He said some of the terrorists were from Mali, Sudan (Janjaweed militia), Burkina Faso and other unstable countries. “It’s high time we called a spade by its name. Instead of calling these blood thirsty killers “terrorists” we call them bandits, which is an euphemism. Bandits or not, they are not allowed to take Nigeria lives without being accountable,” he insisted.
Ekhomu said that the continuous attacks by the terrorists shows that the policy of appeasement adopted by Katsina Governor, Aminu Bello Masari and some other northwest governors was ill-conceived and ineffective. He said: “some foes are simply implacable. West African Jihadists who have engaged in trafficking in women, drugs, guns and cigarettes in the Sahelian zone for many years now see Nigeria as a fertile ground to plunder. These are the same groups that are fighting the governments and peoples of Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania etc. They are involved in cattle rustling and have the munitions to take on a small army. They know the forests well and can live off the land.”
The policy analyst urged the Federal Government not to be distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic while citizens are being slaughtered like fowls. He said human life is precious and Nigerian lives are precious.