ADC to Tinubu: Declare State of emergency in Katsina, Zamfara States

*Tasks President to return home to tackle orgy of killings

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Worried by the spate of killings in Zamfara and Katsina States, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the two States.
The party has similarly called on President Tinubu to stop “jet-setting across the world” and urgently return home to tackle the issue of insecurity in the two states and others.
The ADC said these in a statement on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi in Abuja.
The Senator David Mark-led party condemned the massacre in Malumfashi, Katsina State, where dozens of worshippers and villagers were brutally killed, charging President Tinubu to return home to confront the killers.
The ADC, in the strongly worded statement, expressed sadness at the killings, which it described as a broader wave of terror in Katsina and Zamfara that have claimed over 140 lives in two months, and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop “jet-setting across the world” and urgently declare a State of Emergency in the affected states.
The party equally criticised the decision of PDP Governors to hold their political meeting in Zamfara, only days after the tragic slaughter of dozens of people in the state, describing the action as insensitive.
The statement by ADC reads, “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply outraged and concerned by the recent massacre in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, where 30 worshippers were shot dead in a mosque during dawn prayers, and 20 villagers were burned alive in their homes.
“This evil act epitomizes the horrors that Nigerians have been forced to endure under this administration. It is also a damning proof of the total collapse of our national security architecture, which has prompted even the nation’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to ask citizens to learn how to defend themselves.
“The carnage in Katsina comes on the heels of the recent killings in Zamfara, where 47 people were slaughtered, including 38 hostages murdered even after ransom was paid. And only this month, no fewer than 45 more Nigerians have been killed in Zamfara, with entire villages ransacked, and dozens abducted.
“Taken together, over 140 Nigerians have been murdered in just two months in Katsina and Zamfara alone.
“It is disheartening to note that instead of confronting these urgent national tragedies with the seriousness that they demand, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to jet-set across the world, chasing photo-ops, while his people are dying in dozens at home.
“We wish to remind Mr. President that diplomacy abroad is meaningless if safety and security at home cannot be guaranteed.
“It is equally appalling to note that President Tinubu has not made a direct statement of condolence to family of victims or given the assurance of safety to those still alive.
“This negligence would have been unthinkable in those countries that the President loves to visit.
“In view of the foregoing, ADC therefore calls for an immediate declaration of a State of Emergency in Katsina and Zamfara States until the government is able to stem the tide of bloodshed in those places and restore some order.
“We also call on President Tinubu and his government to embark on total re-evaluation of Nigeria’s national security architecture, which has already proven incapable of protecting lives and property.
“The recent call by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) for citizens to acquire self-defence skills is perhaps the most honest indicator yet that there is a need to rethink the entire internal defence system.
“In a similar vein, we condemn the decision of PDP Governors to hold their political meeting in Zamfara on Saturday, only a few days after scores of innocent citizens were slaughtered in that same state.
“Instead of the governors to rally around their beleaguered colleague to help stop the orgy of killings, they chose to stage a political rally at the scene of mass murder, even if it meant trampling on the memory of the victims.
“The photos of PDP Governors in full ceremonial robes, grinning for the camera is totally out of place in an environment that still reeks of so much blood and sorrow.
“This act alone further underlines an important fact: neither the ruling APC nor the incurably afflicted PDP care about the people and their suffering. They only care about power and politics”, the statement concluded.

END