Reactions have begun to trail the assassination of Ahmed Gulak, a former presidential aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday.
Gulak, who is also a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was murdered in the early hours of Sunday, in Owerri, Imo State capital.
The New Diplomat had reported that the Imo State Police Command has confirmed the death of Gulak, revealing that he was assassinated by “six armed bandits”.
According to the police, the six “armed bandits” ambushed Gulak’s car at Umueze Obiangwu in Ngor-Okpala LGA while he was on his way to the airport.
Following the shocking news, President Muhammadu Buhari, the Arewa Youths and Southern Governors’ Forum are among the long list of Nigerians who have expressed their outrage and disgust at the assassination of Gulak by some armed men.
Buhari in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, described the armed men who murdered the former presidential aide as “callous and criminal elements”. The President further vowed that everyone involved in the murder would be brought to book.
Buhari also expressed his deep condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, the people and government of Adamawa State, describing his demise as painful.
The statement reads, “I am repulsed by such premeditated and gruesome murder of Gulak by evil people who are determined to undermine the peace, unity and territorial integrity of our country.
“Let me warn, however, that nobody or group of people who engages in such despicable act should expect to go free.
“’We will deploy all resources at our disposal to ensure that such callous and criminal elements are brought to justice.”
Also, the Chairman of the South West Governors Forum, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, has described the killing of Gulak as “senseless and wicked.”
Akeredolu in a statement personally issued by him in Akure, the Ondo state capital, described the armed men who murder Gulak as enemies of Nigeria.
The statement reads “The news of the death of an APC chieftain and former Special Adviser on Political Matters in the last Administration, Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, Imo State, this morning, is very shocking and disturbing.
“The details of the tragic incident remain sketchy. “A press statement credited to the Imo State Police Command claimed that some bandits were responsible for the gruesome murder of a man who was a visitor to the State. This is unacceptable.
“This cowardly act is calculated to instigate Nigerians against each other, particularly Northerners, against the Igbo living outside the South East.
“We must confront the enemies of the people with a view to neutralizing them. “This is definitely not the time for political correctness. Banditry should not be allowed to subvert the legitimacy of the current Government at all levels.
“We call on all security agencies to collaborate with a view to unveiling the criminal elements sponsoring and undertaking terrorist acts. they must be punished, severely.
“We want to use this medium to express our solidarity with our brother Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma.
“We admonish him and other Governors in the South Eastern States to brace up, and confront the current security challenge to put an end to the bloodbath in the land.
Similarly, the arewa youths under the aegis of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), in a statement issued a 14-day ultimatum to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, to produce the killers of Gulak. The arewa youths also threatened to declare the governor as “persona non grata”, if he fails to produce the killer after the expiration of the ultimatum.
The New Diplomat understands that “persona non grata”, in a short term means “an unwelcome person.”
This was contained in a statement by the national president, NYCN, Dr. Isa Abubakar-Sadiq.
The statement reads, “The Imo State Governor must bring the killers of Ahmad Gulak to Justice or we declare him non grata in the entire Northern soil.
“It is so pathetic and saddening that the continued killings and lawlessness going on in the Southeastern part of Nigeria has remained unabated.
“The government of Imo state must give an account of those who killed Gulak. The continued killing of Northerners and destruction of security facilities in the State will no longer be tolerated.
“The federal government must rise to its constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and properties and must act appropriately to avoid escalation of this development into a full-blown civil war.
“Government should take note that we will not allow the killers of Ahmed Gulak to go unpunished and the governor, who is the chief security officer of the State, must bring the people involved in this assassination to justice soon.
“Let us state categorically that the Northern youths will do everything within their power to force the government of Imo state to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.
“The Imo governor and other Southeast governors should take note that we shall no longer accept the continued killing of Northerners in their region.
“Therefore, the governor of Imo has two weeks to investigate this killing, or we shall declare him persona non grata across the entire Northern soil.”
