A group, under Grassroots Empowerment and Justice, GEJ Initiative, Sunday, raised the growing insecurity alarm at the grassroots that has claimed thousands of lives through terrorism, banditry, herders-farmers clash, kidnappings, and communal conflicts.
Lamenting the insecurity situation at the rural areas, National Coordinator, GEJ Initiative, Ebriku John Friday, said the deaths, maiming and displacements have assumed unacceptable proportions that has compounded hardship for the grassroots people since 2007 terrorism began.
Friday said GEJ Initiative can no longer watch the gruesome killings from Katsina to Borno, Zamfara to Taraba, Kaduna to Sokoto, Niger to Yobe, Rivers to Ebonyi, and other parts of the country, particularly the grassroots people have been the worst hit as they have continued to mourn and nurse the pains helplessly.
He said: “We are raising the alarm over the growing insecurity in the rural areas, which is the grassroots. These people have suffered the impacts of insecurity over a decade when violent attacks were launched.
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“These people have faced the brutality of heartless militias who have killed poor people, destroyed their property, chased them of their farmlands and ancestral homes, raped their wives, mothers, sisters including old women, most of their young men conscripted to join killer militias as they kidnap women and girls from the villages and schools to be sex slaves and cooks. Most of them cut off from their relations with no hope of being reunited.
“We can no longer watch the gruesome killings from Katsina to Borno, Zamfara to Taraba, Kaduna to Sokoto, Niger to Yobe, Rivers to Ebonyi, and other parts of the country, the grassroots people have continued to mourn and nurse the pains helplessly with fears of more attacks lurking around.”
Meanwhile, the group commended President Muhammadu Buhari over his promise to frontally tackle the rising insecurity and also appreciated the effort by the military in the war against terrorism and banditry, but called for emergency security conference to urgently tackle the precarious security issues that have devastated the rural populace, hence affecting major sectors of the economy including agriculture, mining, education, and others.
“We are calling for emergency security conference that would be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, State Governors, military top brass, police, Department of State Security, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, security experts, community leaders, youth leaders and relevant civil society organizations.
“The security conference should not be delayed because it is an urgent situation and the people need respite and are desperate to have solution to their plight. The local people should be involved to deal with the insecurity problem this time around”, he stated.