Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
A coalition civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria has asked the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency regarding the country’s security situation.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa, made the appeal during a world press conference held in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking on behalf of 48 other CSOs, Musa expressed deep concern over the escalating insecurity across the nation. He stressed the urgent need for the government to take concrete steps to curb this crisis.
Musa noted the diverse nature of the security challenges plaguing Nigeria, including terrorism in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt, and secessionist struggles in the South-East. The issues, he noted, have jeopardised the safety and wellbeing of Nigerians and have shown a worsening trend over the years.
“Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria under the auspices of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities, and, Nigeria Mourns, are deeply concerned by the deteriorating state of security across Nigeria and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and therefore call on the Nigerian government to take actionable steps to end the endemic insecurity, mitigate further attacks by kidnap syndicates and terrorist groups, and, account for persons missing in these attacks,” he said.
He recalled the promises of former President Muhammadu Buhari to address these issues, yet noted that the situation has only deteriorated.
According to Mr Musa, during Mr Buhari’s second term between 2019 and 2023, at least 24,316 Nigerians lost their lives while about 15,597 persons were abducted.
He provided alarming statistics: between President Tinubu’s inauguration in May 2023 and January 26, 2024, at least 2,423 people have been killed and about 1,872 abducted in mass atrocities-related incidents.
Musa also criticised the government’s failure to fulfil its constitutional duty of ensuring citizens’ security and welfare, as mandated by the Constitution of Nigeria.
In response to this dire situation, the coalition presented a 12-point action plan for President Tinubu’s administration to tackle the security crisis effectively. Key among these measures is the call to declare a state of emergency on kidnapping and terrorism.
Corroborating, other speakers at the conference, including Ezenwa Nwagwu and Lois Auta stressed the government’s abandonment of its primary duty and the particular impact of insecurity on vulnerable groups such as the disabled.
“The government has abandoned us, they have abandoned their constitutional right, this is not a call of one civil society organisation alone. This has become a collective effort from all others, including the media.
“Let us look forward to a day like this where we will have all others including the security operatives in a single room and discuss the way out of this,” Nwagwu said.
