By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari to address and bring to book the perpetrators of killings and bloodletting in various parts of the country has emboldened the criminals to strike at will.
While expressing concern over the killings in Plateau State at the weekend, PDP said that if the over 7,000 security personnel, police surveillance helicopters and Armoured Personnel Carriers were not withdrawn from their primary security duties and drafted to be part of the APC national convention, the marauders would not have had a field day in the Plateau attack.
The party decried the gruesome killing of over a hundred innocent Nigerians in communities in Plateau State by marauders weekend.
It lamented that if President Buhari and APC had adhered to wise counsel by the PDP and Nigerians, such killings would have been averted.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP said that President Buhari’s failure to address and bring to book, the perpetrators of killings and bloodletting in the country is emboldening insurgents and marauders to further attack and murder defenseless Nigerians.
“It is most disheartening that compatriots are being killed daily because those saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding lives, care less about the wellbeing and safety of the people, as they focus only on their ill-fated 2019 re-election bid.
“Even when the Zamfara State Governor Abdul-aziz Yari cried out that he was overwhelmed by the spate of insecurity and killings, the federal government gave him an ineffectual response laced with their trite blame game.
“We urge Nigerians to note that since the escalation of killings and bloodletting in various parts of the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna and other states, no concrete steps have been taken by the APC administration to strengthen and fortify the security architecture in the troubled areas,” PDP said.
The opposition said that what Nigerians are witnessing are inactions, impotent assurances and blame games that have continued to compromise security in the areas, thereby creating opening for marauders to continue to ravage the people.
“In fact, if the APC and its federal government had channelled the same energy and resources they have deployed to fighting perceived opponents towards fighting marauders and insurgents, the security challenge would not have been as devastating as we have in our nation today.
“We now find ourselves in a situation where government attaches no value to the lives of Nigerians so much so that top security officials flout presidential orders and even abandon their security duties in troubled areas while the president, as the commander-in-chief, takes no strong steps to reorder his parade,” it said.
PDP asked the APC and its government to come out clear on what they stand to gain by allowing these killings and bloodletting to fester, as if the lives of citizens have become worthless.
“Finally, while the PDP commiserates with the families of the victims of the attack, we totally reject these killings and demand an immediate concrete step to get to the root of the matter and end this bloodletting in our land,” it said.
