– CNPP Urges Boko Haram Sect to Spell out Terms
– Police Confirm 65 Dead in Yobe Explosion
Some professionals in Lagos on Wednesday expressed worries over the security situation in the country, stating that the absence of proactive policing was a major problem.
The professionals, who spoke at different forums condemned the activities of the Boko Haram sect and their wanton destruction of lives.
“The bombings and threats by the Boko Haram group should be checked urgently before they derailed the nation’s progress.
“Their activities are inimical to the unity and growth of Nigeria,” Mr Hakeem Abina, a lawyer said.
Abina rejected the popularly-held notion that the sect’s members were Muslims living in the northern part of the country.
He adjudged the group as lawless and misguided in their course.
“As far as I am concerned, the Boko Haram group is not a religious sect, they are just a set of misguided people with skewed interpretation of the Quran,” Abina noted.
He urged the government to improve on its security policies and strengthen the judicial process of prosecuting those who bombed innocent people.
A banker, Mr Friday Okputu, urged the government to tackle the sect with the urgency it deserved.
He said that the illegality of the sect was not in doubt and that their activities were inimical to Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives.
“Boko Haram has claimed the lives of innocent citizens in the country, inflicting pains and sorrows on the families of their victims.
“I am actually surprised that people are willing recruits for clandestine acts and suicide bombings,” Okputu said.
He urged the authorities to “apply necessary measures to combat the group,“ adding that “no sentiment should be employed in treating any culpable person.“
For Mr Tony Ufoh, a history lecturer in the Lagos State University (LASU) External Campus, government needed to wake up to its responsibilities.
He expressed sadness over the illegality perpetrated by the sect and the police’s inability to curb their menace.
“I am very shocked that up till now the Nigerian security agencies have not been able to tackle this group and exterminate them from the state,” Ufoh said.
The Akwa Ibom chapter of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), has asked the Boko Haram sect to spell out its terms and stop killing innocent Nigerians.
In a communique signed by the state Chairman, Prince Linus Udofa at the end of its extra-ordinary stakeholders meeting on Wednesday in Uyo, the conference urged the group to give peace a chance.
“We suggest that the Presidency and the National Assembly should see the need to take a more proactive approach before it engulfs the entire nation.
“A situation where faceless hoodlums and monsters could hold the peace of this great country to ransom is seriously pathetic and condemnable,” he said.
The CNPP called on security operatives to react immediately to stop the sect in its “devilish agenda geared toward destroying the nation”.
The communique also advocated for an adoption of women as deputy governors across the country noting that it had long been implemented in the South Western states of the country.
“This is a way of integrating the women into the mainstream politics and strengthen
gender equality.
The National Assembly should see the need to enact a law to support its full implementation,” they said.
On the issue of same-sex marriage, the party commended the entire leadership of the National Assembly for trashing the ugly bill, describing it as “a demonic doctrine and an abomination” in its ramification.
Meanwhile the Nigerian Police Force, on Wednesday in Abuja confirmed the death of 65 people in the explosion which rocked Damaturu on Nov. 4.
A statement signed by Mr Yemi Ajayi, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer,
gave the breakdown as 11 policemen, two soldiers, two civil defence personnel,
one immigration officer and one customs personnel.
It also said that 36 Boko Haram suspects and 11 civilians died in the incident
“The Nigerian Police wish to commiserate with the victims of the unwarranted
attacks, that took place in Yobe on Friday Nov. 4, 2011,” the statement said.
It reiterated the need for all Nigerians to report suspicious movements and gatherings to the nearest police station or other security agencies.
It also appealed to the public to cooperate with the police on their quest at reducing crime to the barest minimum.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria.