From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, demanded the sack of the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, for asking Nigerians to defend themselves against armed aggression by bandits and terrorists.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the minister’s statement as reckless and confirmation that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has allegedly surrendered to outlaws and lacks determination to fight them.
The opposition party said: “It is unthinkable that a government would describe unarmed victims of armed aggression of terrorists and bandits as ‘cowards’, while those who were elected and given the necessary resources to defend them recede in the comfort and safety of their offices in Abuja.”
The PDP added that ‘such disposition to security, a statutory responsibility of government, goes to validate apprehensions that our nation is, indeed, descending to a failed state under the Buhari presidency, where government can no longer perform its duties, while unarmed citizens are left to confront bandits and warlords.
“Given the silence by the Buhari presidency, our party holds that the defeatist comment by the minister represents the disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari and his security architecture, and explains why the administration has remained complacent in the fight against terrorism and banditry in our country.
“Such statement by the Buhari administration, at the time it ought to be scaling up its security strategies to guarantee the safety of Nigerians, have been emboldening bandits, terrorists and kidnappers to escalate their atrocities against our compatriots.
“Moreover, with such disposition, the Buhari administration is creating a lucrative job for bandits, terrorists and kidnappers, who are settled with huge ransom, instead of being faced with firepower.”