From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Toby Okechukwu, has condemned the killing of citizens in Egedegede community of Ebonyi State by suspected herdsmen.
Okechukwu, in a statement on Thursday, also condemned the attack on former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chukwuma Soludo, by gunmen in Isuofia, Anambra State, in which three policemen were killed.
The lawmaker stated that the two incidents and prevailing killings across the country are clear indications that things are falling apart.
Okechukwu, who represents Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency of Enugu State warned that if the tide is not immediately arrested,it would spell doom for the country.
The lawmaker stated that the time is overdue to ‘breathe life into the reports of the 2014 National Conference and the Governor Nasir El-Rufai-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee on True Federalism”, both of which he said favoured state police as the answer to the rising insecurity in the country.
‘This continuous carnage as evident from the attack in Ebonyi is a clear indication that things are really falling apart. This massacre of hapless citizens is another sad reminder that we are in a season of anomie where innocent people are unexpectedly mowed down in cold blood without consequences.
‘The advertent or inadvertent encouragement of ethic militias to levy war on all parts of the country is a clear manifestation of a nation-state that has abdicated its leviathan responsibility to protect the lives and properties of her citizens.
‘It is unbelievable that non-state actors brandishing AK-47 and other lethal weapons can hold a nation-state of over 200 million people to ransom, undetected, unchallenged and without any consequences.
‘It is very apparent from all indications that the Federal Government has lost the initiative to preempt, curtail, mitigate or solve these devilish attacks and bloodletting. It is also very apparent from our security policy and its present architecture that citizens cannot be protected or assured of protection. Clearly, the APC government has lost its commission and mandate for which it was hired in 2019.’
Okechukwu, while commiserating with the people of Ebonyi State, called on the security agencies to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the executors and masterminds of the Ebonyi killings.