Kano
State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has berated Nigerian senators over
their stance on this Monday’s bomb explosion in Kano. The senators had
accused him of indifference.
But the governor spoke from Kano yesterday, shortly after receiving the
federal government delegation led by the minister of interior, Comrade
Abba Moro. The members of the delegation were on a sympathy visit to the
governor.
Kwanakwaso said, “They are just senators sitting in Abuja and they
don’t know anything but they have to speak rubbish and absolute
nonsense.
“Senators in Abuja felt they are big and mightier. Abuja only they
know. They don’t know what is happening in their states or
constituencies. If there is kidnapping, militancy or bomb blast in their
home state they seek refuge in their castles in Abuja.”
Senator Uche Chukumerije and Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya had accused
him of being nonchalant and that he failed to personally sympathise with
the victims’ families.
Chukumerije and Gaya had claimed that 80 per cent of those who died
were Igbo and 20 per cent from the other parts of the country.
Governor Kwankwaso called on the senators and members of the House of
Representatives to pay a visit to Kano like the federal government did
and witness events on the ground. He asked the electorate to ensure
that, in the next election, they elect credible senators unlike the
present ones who don’t wish good for the country and the sustenance of
peace and oneness of the nation. “We are working round the clock to
ensure there is peace in Kano State and we shall continue with the good work for the betterment of the state,” Kwankwaso added.
Moro commended the traditional rulers, the security initiative of
Kwankwaso and his desire to have peace in the state. He said, “Clearly
today is the demonstration of federal government’s intensified
collaborative effort with the state government and the people of Nigeria
to avoid the said wanton destruction of lives and property in the south.”
He said that the federal government would help in improving the security situation in the state.
ACN calls for decisive action
Meanwhile, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has strongly condemned
Monday’s suicide bombing in Kano that led to the killing and maiming of
innocent citizens, saying it is time for all stakeholders in the country
to act decisively to stem an impending national catastrophe.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its national publicity
secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is now futile to
expect that the federal government can end the crisis, as it has so far
shown that it possesses neither the vision nor the capacity to confront
the worsening acts of terrorism in the country.
The ACN said, “As we commiserate with the victims of this senseless
act and their families, we will like to say that this is the time for
sober reflection and restraint, and that all leaders of thought must
urgently come together, formally or informally, to avert a national
calamity that will not spare anyone, whether or not they are members of
the Boko Haram sect.”
The party said all religious, ethnic and political leaders must start
by preaching restraint in their domains, since it is now clear that the
end-gamers behind these senseless killings are bent on setting
Nigerians against themselves.
ACN noted, with gross disappointment, that the recent escalation in
the senseless attacks in the north follows the un-statesmanlike display
by President Goodluck Jonathan when he paid a belated visit to the
states that have now become the epicentre of the Boko Haram crisis.
‘’We have said this before and we hereby repeat it. The president’s
display of anger, instead of temperance, at his testy meeting with the
community leaders during his visit, is like ouring petrol on a naked
fire. It will definitely result in conflagration, the type of which we
are now witnessing.
Terrorists are becoming more desperate to divide the country – NLC
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described the recent
bomb blast at a bus station in Kano State as a desperate act by
desperate people to weaken the bonds that hold the nation together.
The labour union, however, said Nigeria will overcome them if we refuse to fall for their ploy by not carrying reprisal attacks.
In a press statement by an official of the NLC, Mr. Promise Adewusi, the
labour body condemned the bombing, describing it as unjustifiable act
of horror. Adewusi stated, “We at the Nigeria Labour Congress condemn in
very strong terms the unjustifiable act of horror perpetrated in Kano
on Monday by yet to be identified bombers which left scores of
passengers and other users of a motor park dead. It was cowardly and
shameful and incapable of advancing any cause except evil. We at the
Congress believe that no cause is worth killing innocent Nigerians for.
“If motor parks where ordinary people use to eke out their daily
living are no longer safe, where else could be safe? Yet we urge the
people of Nigeria and citizens of other nations domiciled in Nigeria not
to be intimidated or beaten. Instead, we should rise in unison and with
common accord to preach peace and unity in our land. These are
difficult moments indeed but we must rise to the challenge in the hope
that, in the end, good shall triumph over evil.
20 people killed in Riyom fresh attack
At least 20 people have been confirmed dead after an overnight attack in
Atakar of Ganawuri area of Riyom local government area of the Plateau
State.
A member representing Riyom constituency in the State House of
Assembly, Hon. Daniel Dem, told our correspondent on phone that the
village was overran in a midnight attack by suspected Fulani militias.
According to the lawmaker, over 40 houses had been burnt to ashes,
adding that the attackers invaded the village while the villagers were
sleeping, burning and shooting anybody at sight.
He added that there had never been an attack in the village, so there
was no security presence while the militias used the advantage to raid
and burn all the houses in the village.
According to him, there were corpses lying in the village square. He,
however, commended the DPO of the area, saying that, if not for his
effort, the entire village would have become history.
LEADERSHIP gathered that some Fulani herdsmen with arms had gone to
Atkar village at about 8pm and claimed that they were on bee-hunting but
they were challenged by the natives who told them that the weapons they
were carrying did not show people on a peaceful mission.
It was learnt that an argument was said to have ensued and, in the process, the Fulani killed five people in Atakar.
The incident was said to have the angered the natives who mobilised
to chase them out of the village. But the gunmen were said to have
regrouped early yesterday morning and invaded the village in large
numbers.
Two people were killed again in Atakar and 13 others in neighbouring
Dajak village, bringing the number to 20 between Wednesday evening and
Thursday morning.
The management committee chairman of Riyom local government council,
Hon. Sam Gyang Audu, told our correspondent that the number could be on
the high side. According to him, many corpses were lying on the ground
in the two villages.
But the commissioner of police, Plateau State command, Mr. Chris Olakpe,
told our correspondent that no life was lost in the attack.
Residents relocate from community
Meanwhile, residents of Mavo community in Wase LGA of Plateau State,
which came under attack on Wednesday, have started relocating from the
community in droves. A source, who spoke to our correspondent said he
saw villagers moving out with their property items, some with their
livestock.
IG bars military, politicians from using tinted, unregistered vehicles
Following the renewed terrorist attacks in some
parts of the country, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed
Abubakar, has directed all Zonal AIGs and State Command Commissioners
of Police, to arrest military personnel, politicians from using tinted
and unregistered vehicles.
Abubakar gave the directive yesterday in a statement signed by the
Force spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba and made available to LEADERSHIP, where
he expressed grave concern over the links of some recent terrorist
attacks to perpetrators who used either tinted glasses or unlicensed
vehicles.
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