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By Oluseye Ojo
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has raised serious concern over the recent escalation of kidnapping, banditry, attacks on security officers, as well as herders and farmers clashes.
The organization noted that between 2011 and 2023, ay least 24,816 Nigerians were killed, and 15,597 were abducted. It added that approximately 1,290 Nigerians were abducted in the first half of 2024 alone.
National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, in a statement on Friday, called on government to take immediate action to enforce the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (TPA) as amended by the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013 (TPAA).
“The fact that kidnapping and related banditry have resurfaced in recent months is a testament that government needs to take urgent steps to enforce the said law,” Ajayi
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The group decried the failure of the government to prosecute five Nigerians identified by the United Arab Emirates as sponsors of terrorism. It also advocated a serious review of the country’s security architecture, while applauding the government’s pledge to “close up the ungoverned spaces” as announced by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Afenifere recommended the implementation of counter-insurgency strategies and immediate action on various suggestions, including the constitution of state and local government police, engagement with local communities, and the deployment of modern technologies for security purposes.
The group stressed the importance of engaging with local people, as intelligence reports have indicated possible collaboration or connivance from insiders. It also made a case for an urgent implementation of CCTV and the deployment of modern technology, including drones, to combat crimes and forestall terrorism.
He noted that last Sunday, three Indian nationals and a Nigerian were abducted on Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode Expressway, adding that Dr. Tiri Gyan David, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma (FUDMA), in Katsina State was also killed last Tuesday in his residence and his two children abducted.
The group also noted that penultimate Tuesday, the army, in a counter-terrorism operation, repelled an attack by suspected terrorists on Isheke Police Station in Ebonyi State, while herders’ attacks on communities in Benue, Plateau, Niger, Oyo States and so on still continue, just as kidnappings also occurred in Sokoto, Katsina, Nassarawa and parts of Oke-ogun in Oyo State, among others.
