Nasarawa: APC Allays Fear over Emergence of B’Haram Sibilance Group
It warned FG to act fast to prevent Nasarawa from becoming another trouble spot in the country, saying the mindless violence being perpetrated by the Ombatse cult/ethnic militia in the state is fast spiralling out of control.
Some of the attacks on the state included the killing of 60 security operatives in May; May 30th and June 1st 2012, when the cult killed 15 people in an attack on Assakio community; November 21st, 2012 when the cult attacked Agyaragu community, killing nine people.
Another one is the November 17th, 2012 attack, when the cult mounted illegal road blocks and attacked motorists and commuters, injuring many including soldiers and other security agents.
After some of the attacks, the state government acted promptly by proscribing the dangerous group, meeting with elders from the Eggon ethnic group.
It also sought a peaceful solution and the sustained surveillance on the activities of the group.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said failure to act fast would see the state, which has the longest stretch of border with the federal capital territory (FCT), plunged into a crisis that may have a far-reaching effect beyond the state.
It said the lessons of the Boko Haram crisis which, through the same attitude now being exhibited towards the Nasarawa crisis, was allowed to fester and then degenerate into a slow-motion warfare, should guide the federal government to quickly bring the Nasarawa crisis under control.
The statement partly read: ''In an inexplicable decision, the federal government resorted to a policy of appeasement against those who killed security operatives who were carrying out their lawful duties. These mindless cultists were supposedly forgiven without any of them being brought to justice, thus emboldening them to continue to perpetrate their dastardly acts.
''The killings of security agents last May was not the first time the cult had attacked individuals and security operatives. Unfortunately, the kid gloves with which the cultists have been treated by the federal government, even after the killing of the security operatives, has meant more killings and destruction of property, the latest of which occurred last week, with deadly consequences.”
The party added that it would not be preferable for the FG to use force that may inflict a collateral damage on innocent citizens, saying it believed that bringing to justice the perpetrators of crime among the cultists was a good starting point.
The statement added: “How has a vicious cult become a sacred cow that can so easily mow down security operatives without consequences? Why does the FG need to wait before there is a conflagration before embarking on a panic deployment of troops to the areas hit by the latest attack by the Ombatse cult in Nasarawa? These and other questions are now being asked by right thinking Nigerians within and outside the state.
''Unfortunately, the insinuation in certain quarters now is that the FG has deliberately delayed action in bringing the cultists to justice for the crimes they have perpetrated or in stopping them from committing further atrocities because it wants the situation to deteriorate so it can then benefit from the chaos by taking over the state, either by hook or crook.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/nasarawa-apc-allays-fear-over-emergence-b%E2%80%99haram-sibilance-group
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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