By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja
The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria, MMWGN, has hailed the freedom of 28 Bethel Baptist High School students in Chikum Local Government of Kaduna State.
The group, in a statement yesterday by its National Coordinator, Mal. Abdullahi Ibrahim, the condemned the ‘siege’ of criminals on Nigerians especially in the Northern States of Nigeria.
The MMWGN therefore called on the security agencies, especially the Military, the Police and Department of Security Services, to upscale their efforts in curbing the violent crimes of kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria.
According to the group, “The Nation’s intelligence and security mechanism ought to have located the dens of these criminals and be able to track them down since they started their nefarious activities several years back”.
While commending the Federal Government’s efforts towards arresting the wave of crimes across the country, the group however that the failure of terrorists to release the kidnapped 137 children of an Islamiyyah School in Tegina, Niger State is a serious challenge to the FG and the Niger State Government.
The MMWGN pointed out that equally of challenge to the government is the recurring kidnapping in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi and Katsina States.
The group said, “The information that some of the children kidnapped from Islamiyyah Schools in Tegina are kept somewhere near Shiroro also in Niger State, is disturbing as security and State Government officials keeping mum over this issue inspite of the hardship on these children leading to the death of three of them already”.
The MMWGN called on the all concerned in governments to urgently relieve agonizing parents and guardians of grief by doing the needful to set the innocent children free, while efforts should be made to capture alive those tormenting Nigeria with these crimes so that they could be made to face the law.
Commenting on the weekend’s Local Government elections in Lagos and Ogun States, the group stated that the low-turn-out of voters in TN the two states for the elections, confirmed that the electorates are tired of deceitful polls.
It recalled that despite several demands for justice, transparency and accountability in LG elections, which made citizens to demand for scrapping of States’ Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC), the nation is still continuing with undemocratic process where State Governments choose whoever will contest, organise and supervise same elections and award all results in their own favour.
This, the group said, is fraudulent, unjust, unacceptable and unsustainable.
It therefore called on the National Assembly to amend the relevant portion of the 1999 Constitution to give the National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to organise LG elections and scrap States Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC) without further delay.
