New Killing Spree: Presidency, APC Not Keen on Arresting Perpetrators, Alleges PDP
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday described the attitude of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government to the recent massacre of defenseless Nigerians in Benue, Rivers, Kaduna and other states as insensitive.
While condemning the action of the marauders as extremely wicked, iniquitous and horrifying, PDP said the mayhem would have been averted if the relevant authorities had responded to danger signs.”
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday further lamented the insensitivity of the APC presidency which reacted to the ugly incidents only after the PDP and wellmeaning Nigerians called them to task.
The party also described as inexcusable, the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC federal government to act upon early danger signs and threats by taking cautionary measures that could have averted the killings, particularly in Benue State.
According to the opposition party, “the height of insensitivity of the APC presidency became glaring in its reaction, wherein a media aide issued some apathetic and indifferent lines without any precise commitment towards bringing the perpetrators to book and assurances of adequate security to forestall a reoccurrence.”
The PDP also called on the presidency to have some soulsearching with regard to its silence and loud indifference whenever citizens fall under such horrifying attacks.
“What a way to start the new year! The sheer insensitivity of the APC government has continued to cause our country a lot of pain and sorrow.
“Is it not only a careless and inept leadership like the APC government that will ignore the danger signs in any part of the country and leave its citizens defenseless, just to be massacred by marauders?
“If the APC federal government had effectively acted upon the danger signs and had provided adequate security in flash points across the country, particularly in Benue State, North-central and Southern Kaduna area, this massacre of Nigerians, who were already impoverished by the APC’s misrule, could have been prevented.
“Is it not a tragic trajectory of governance that while the APC presidency was busy basking on its orchestrated New Year self-praise and empty promises, bandits were having a field day mowing down citizens in cold blood?
“Is it not also an irony that when the government was prompted to react to the spate of killings, all its officials could do was to respond in a most indifferent, nearly unconcerned and almost without compassion manner?
“Indeed, PDP aligns with Nigerians that the APC and the presidency should have a serious soul searching on their clear indifference towards the persistent killings and maiming of citizens by bandits who constantly invade communities, slaughter the people and walk away with blood of our compatriots in their hands.
“We insist that for the country to be reassured, the federal government must show commitment by ensuring that the perpetrators of these killings are immediately brought to book and made to face the full wrath of the law.
“We therefore charge our military and other security agencies to leave no stone unturned in this direction.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us; every citizen has a right to life and no man should take the life of another for any reason or under any guise whatsoever,” the statement said.
The PDP commiserated with the families of the victims, and directed its members across board to assist and continue to pray for them.