A Non-Governmental Organization, Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development, PAPSD, has condemned the no-fly-zone order imposed on Zamfara State.
The PAPSD Executive-Director, Sani Abdullahi-Shinkafi, in a statement on Friday, alleged that the move was a ploy by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to declare a State of Emergency on the state.
He argued that Zamfara was not the only state affected by banditry, yet there was no attempt by the Presidency to declare the other states as no-fly zones.
Mr Shinkafi, therefore, charged Federal Government to stop playing politics with the lives and security of Nigerians.
He also noted that Governor Bello Matawalle is not the first governor to adopt a dialogue solution to tackle insecurity in the country, saying that the governor’s approach was “a distressed measure following the failures of the presidency to guarantee the security of lives and property in the state”.
“Under the Matawalle led administration armed banditry and kidnapping has been reduced to the barest minimum,” he said.
The statement said: “The APC-led Federal Government should stop playing the 2023 politics with armed banditry in Zamfara State.
“The APC should demonstrate patriotism by sympathizing with the people and come up with their own ideas on how to end banditry.
“We wonder why the APC-led federal government is passing the buck of armed banditry to the Governor Matawalle led administration when it is obvious that the issue of armed banditry in Zamfara State dates to the days of the immediate past APC administration in the state.
“It is on record the immediate past Governor Abdulaziz Yari resigned publicly as Chief Security officer of the State yet nobody saw fit to declare a no fly zone or declare a state of emergency” he added.
Mr Shinkafi pointed out that, “none of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, is free from armed banditry and other forms of criminality, adding that the present administration should be “more committed” and come up with “fresh ideas on how to battle this insecurity in the country”.
He said: “The North East was under siege by the Boko Haram insurgents for more than eleven years, yet the Boko Haram has not been defeated, why should the government leave the citizens at the mercy of armed robbers and kidnappers? Then what is the essence of having such a government?
“We call on the President to order the immediate recruitment of more security personnel to fight crime in the country. “The Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on insecurity in Nigeria and improve the welfare of security personnel to boost their morale and enhance their performance.
“So there is the urgent need for inter-agency collaboration between security agencies in the country” he declared.
“They should ensure the respect for the human rights of Nigerians as provided in the 1999 Constitution as amended,” he concluded.
