By Isaac Akerele
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on the insecurity bedeviling several parts of the country.
NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) stated this a a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday. According to the legal association, It is high time the Federal Government declares a state of emergency in the area of security and not to waste time.
“Nigerians need a well thought-out, informed, all-inclusive and purposeful intervention” on security with maximum public information, he outlined.
Maikyau also said the NBA worries some Nigerians had lost, and many more were fast losing confidence in the ability of the Federal Government to deal with the security situation.
“All forms of criminal activities across the nation, however described, by criminal elements-by whatever name called- are completely inexcusable and unacceptable.”
“The entire country is under siege by terrorists, bandits and criminal gangs. It is no longer easily determinable, if not impossible, which square kilometer of the Nigerian territory is under the authority not control of the Federal Government,” Maikyau said.
Following talks that foreign nationals are reportedly connected to some criminal activities perpetrated in the country, he questioned how “the activities of foreign nationals have been responsible for this high level of insecurity in our nation when the country is not at war.”
Maikyau decried the brazen boasts of some of these bandits on social media that they are controlling Nigerian territory without consequences. This he said, indicates “there is more to it than meets the eye, and Nigerians need to be better informed.”
He strongly urged better commitments by the Presidency to prioritize security while appropriately utilizing global security trends without compromising it’s sovereignty.
“The government must neither be scared nor ashamed to make the right investments in security, in line with global trends, without compromising our sovereignty.” he said
Speaking further, Maikyau noted Nigeria’s fast dwindling economy and skyrocketing prices of foodstuff increase. This he said, is equally a direct impact of the insecurity, as farmers are no longer able to go to their farms due to the activities of bandits and kidnappers.
While he urged the President to address Nigerians on his plans to revamp the economy, he claims doing so will help reassure citizens that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
“Nigerians need to know, as we all are entitled to, in concrete terms, the plans this administration has for the revamping of our economy. It is the government/citizens’ engagement on the strategies for the recovery, reformation, and repositioning of the economy and all other sectors, that will give Nigerians hope to continue to persevere and remain resilient as we have always been” he said
Maikyau said he has articulated these urgent points in a letter to President Tinubu, hoping for consideration and favorable outcomes.
