From Okwe Obi, Abuja, Noah Ebije, Sola Ojo, Kaduna and Timothy Olanrewaju Maiduguri

Northern elders under the umbrella of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (NEPD), have described the Kankara  abduction as callous and reprehensible, lamenting that the region was at the mercy of terrorists.

The group’s National Coordinator, Zana Goni and National Women Leader, Hajiya Mario Bichi, in a statement, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the service chiefs because of their inability to address the rising cases of insecurity.

While extending their sympathies to families of the victims, they called on government to fish out the killers and use them as experimental guinea pigs.

“At the boiling point we have found ourselves, we believe it will not be out of place to seek assistance in dealing with these threats from outside.

“We would say in the strongest possible terms that there can be no justification for the deliberate targeting of innocent school children.

“Our president was elected by Nigerians and the same Nigerians have spoken through their representatives in the National Assembly.

“He should listen to them by dropping the service chiefs, who have since reached retirement age in the military and appoint new ones with fresh ideas to do the job for which we elected him to do,”Goni said.

Meanwhile, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has alleged that some top security operatives did not want insecurity to end.

In a statement by its Secretary General, Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar-led group, said there were lapses in Nigeria’s security architecture that needed to be urgently addressed.

The apex Islamic body in the North asked President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to calls to revamp the security architecture and address the nation, adding that there were insinuations that for pecuniary benefits, some top echelon among the security operatives did not want the insecurity to end.

“If not, how can one explain the movement of bandits in their hundreds on motorcycles without being detected? What happens to intelligence gathering that this heinous plan was not uncovered before it was hatched? How comes the bandits took their time, gather the schoolboys, heaped them on bikes and whisked them away without being rounded up by the security agencies?

“Mr. President needs to hearken to the call of Nigerians: revamp the security architecture and address the nation. This abduction in commando-style is one tragedy too many coming on the heels of the infamous Zabarmari massacre, not long ago.

“This, indeed, is a sad reminder of the abductions of schoolgirls in Chibok and Dapchi of Borno and Yobe States of North East Nigeria, and it is an indicator that the powers that be don’t read the present through the spectacle of the past; this wouldn’t have happened.

“For the umpteenth time, we will continue to ask: ‘for how long shall the masses continue to live in fear? For how long shall the federal and state governments continue to issue empty condemnations whenever tragedies struck?’

“Is the government and the security agencies so overwhelmed and thus cannot secure the citizens? Are there insurmountable challenges or acts of sabotage that the government is hiding from the public? These and many more questions continue to bedevil every discerning mind within and outside Nigeria.”

While describing the abduction of hundreds of schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School (GSSS), Kankara, Katsina State as a slap on President Muhammadu Buhari, JNI said the boldness of the bandits on the day President Buhari arrived Katsina State on a private visit attested to the resolve of his government to end insecurity or not.

“Are the bandits this bold as to further test the resolve of the government or smite the face of the Commander- in-Chief by bringing it up to his doorstep in his presence?

“…What baffles us the most is government’s inability to locate the enemy’s actual enclave, the focal point of their strength and to devote all available means to rout them out or incapacitate them.

“Is it that the political will isn’t there? What really is the challenge or Nigerians don’t deserve to know from the government they elected?”

‘Allow communities to bear arms’

Some youths organisations from the 19 northern states and Abuja have called President Buhari and Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to allow communities bear fire arms and protect themselves.

The youths made the call after a two-day meeting in Kaduna held under the Joint Committee of Northern Youth Association (JACOM) to discuss the prevailing security situation in northern Nigeria. They alleged that President Buhari has failed to protect lives and property of Nigerians.

The group, in a communique read by Raphael Terkula and Muhammed Murtala Abubakar, said: “Today, in northern Nigeria, people cannot freely travel between few kilometres without being kidnapped for ransom or killed, their homes are neither safe, nor can they go to their farms.

“Students in boarding schools have joined long list of victims, same with lecturers in tertiary institutions, thereby causing them to live in total apprehension.

“Hence, keeping quiet is not an option, people of good conscience must speak out against the worsening security situation in northern Nigeria. Citizens should take steps necessary to protect their lives and property since government is failing woefully on its primary duty.

“We urge President Buhari to respect the resolutions of the National Assembly, opinion of other critical stakeholders on the security situation and do the needful by sacking the service chiefs and injecting new ideas to arrest the worsening security situation.”

Tinubu calls for change of tactics

The All Progressive Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju BolaTinubu has called for a change in the security strategies to address increasing Boko Haram attacks in the North East and insecurity in other parts of the country.

Tinubu made the call in Maiduguri, Borno while answering questions from journalists shortly after his visit to Governor, Babagana Zulum. 

“We cannot afford this carnage any longer. We have to engage our youths, mobilise them, retrain them. No human being is untrainable, no human being is unengagable. We have to change our tactics in some areas. It is time,” he said.

He said he was in Maiduguri for sympathy and solidarity visit to the governor and people of the state over the recent Boko Haram attack on farmers.