Insecurity: SaMBA Wants Buhari to Arrest, Try Sponsors of Killings in S’East

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Southern and Middle-Belt Alliance (SaMBA) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently identify and apprehend the sponsors of recent killings by unknown gunmen in the South East zone.

The group, in a statement on Monday and signed by its spokesman, Rwang Pam Jnr. appealed to the president to take immediate steps to tackle the growing menace of violence in Anambra State and the entire South-East region.

SaMBA, while commending the Nigeria Army’s proactive action against insecurity as it planned to commence three security exercises nationwide, codenamed ‘Golden Dawn, Enduring Peace and Still Water’, further advised the soldiers to conduct these exercises with restraint and respect human rights of civilians.

The statement read in part: “Recent activities of the so-called ‘Unknown Gunmen’ in Anambra State and the South-East in the past few weeks call for concern among peace loving Nigerians as scores of lives had been lost and government and private properties worth billions of Naira destroyed.

“The right to life is fundamental and basic right and it’s so entrenched in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) in Section 33, which clearly states, ‘that every person has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.

“Likewise, Section 14 (2b) states that ‘the welfare and security of the citizens shall be the primary purpose of government’. This government has failed in that duty and continues to fail until it fulfils its responsibility to all Nigerians.

“It is heart-breaking that recent happenings in Anambra State and the South East at large have breached this right. If the federal government cannot guarantee the security of lives of its people, which is on the Exclusive list, it is well advised for the National Assembly to amend the Constitution and place Internal security in the concurrent list to enable governors become effective chief security officers in their respective states.

“We, therefore, directly call on President Muhammadu Buhari to fish out the sponsors of the so-called ‘Unknown Gunmen’ in South East and bring them to justice without further ado. We further call on the Federal government to urgently investigate allegations that the current upsurge in the criminal attacks in Anambra State has to do with the forthcoming Anambra State gubernatorial elections on November 6, 2021.”