Umbrella body of Nigerian lawyers , Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on the issue of insecurity in the country at the threat has continued unabated.
According to the lawyers, “what Nigerians require is a well thought-out, informed, all-inclusive and purposeful intervention, with as much necessary information made available to the public as made be dictated or permitted by the security situations from time to time.”
The leadership of the NBA has reiterated that the federal government need to demonstrate a commitment of prioritizing insecurity above every other thing as it is the basic function of every responsible government.
The statement was made today in Abuja by the leadership of the NBA in person of, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau on behalf of the body where they call for the establishment of the state police.
In his statement, Maikyau said, “some Nigerians have lost, and many more are fast losing confidence in the ability of the Federal Government to deal with the security situation in the country.”
“All forms of criminal activities across the nation, howsoever described, by criminal elements by whatever name called, are completely inexcusable and unacceptable.”
It said: “The entire country is under siege by terrorists, bandits and criminal gangs. It is no longer easily determinable, if not impossible, which square kilometre of the Nigerian territory is under the authority not control of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The NBA explained that a country where criminality dots is all over the place called Nigeria territory, to an extent that its diminishing the presence of law enforcement agencies, directly challenges the sovereignty of Nigeria, there is no emergency than now.
What is more freighting is that the said terrorists are from a foreign land that only came to Nigeria to perpetrate evil.
“If the activities of foreign nationals have been responsible for this high level of insecurity in our nation when the country is not at war, these criminal elements go on to boldly record and send out videos on social media platforms boasting about their strongholds with the territory of the Nigerian state and suffer no consequence for so doing, then there is more to it than meets the eye, and Nigerians need to be better informed of the nature of the insecurity they are dealing with.”
Continuing, the NBA, in the letter it wrote to President Tinubu, said: “The entire nation is swimming in the pool of the blood of its citizens and we seen to have become numb to it and insensitive to the bloodletting in this country.
“We appear to have lost our humanity and these incidents are fast becoming a norm and a part of our existence.
According to the NBA, those in position of authority should not be carried away with few armed security men that are keeping vigil in their houses as the larger part of the country is being terrorised.
“We call on government to have a change of mindset, strategy and tactics in not only making necessary investments in security, but also in a way our military strength/capabilities are displayed to the public.
“There is literally no part of the country that is not enmeshed in one form of insecurity challenge or the other. What makes the entire situation even more disturbing is the increasing boldness of the perpetrators,” the NBA added.
The lawyers cautioned that if something urgent is not done, the level of the insecurity is capable of throwing the country’s economy under.
The statement continued, “The Nigerian economy is dwindling; value of Naira has been bastardized, prizes of foodstuff have skyrocketed, everything negative seems that be on the rise. The insecurity has equally impacted negatively on food sufficiency and good security as a nation.
The NBA added that especially “Those who rely on farming as their sole means of livelihood have been thrown into abject poverty, because they no longer go to their farms.
“While this administration may argue that it is only seven months into office and is not the cause of present-day experience, the fact remains that it is this government that has the responsibility of stemming the negative tide,” the NBA stated.
On the sideline, NBA kicked against the Enhanced Trade Investment Partnership (ETIP) Agreement which the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment signed with the government of the United Kingdom, which would allow British lawyers to practice in Nigeria.
“It is indeed unfortunate that this tragic reminder of our colonial past, is being gleefully celebrated at the highest level of the Government of Nigeria.
“What is more disheartening is the fact that a decision of this magnitude that adversely affects the wellbeing and livelihood of millions of Nigerians could be taken without any consultation, especially with the NBA,” the legal body added.