News
CSOs Lament Loss of 2000 Lives in Q1 of 2021
- /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Murder.jpeg&description=CSOs Lament Loss of 2000 Lives in Q1 of 2021', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 69
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Murder.jpeg&description=CSOs Lament Loss of 2000 Lives in Q1 of 2021', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
Nigeria lost over 2,000 citizens to worsening insecurity in the first quarter of 2021, Civil Society Organisations have said.
The Joint Action Civil Society Coalition, comprising 125 nongovernmental organisations berated the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for its inability to curtail the disturbing security challenges confronting the nation.
The CSOs stated this in a joint statement titled, “State of the Nation: A Call to President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the bleeding and take action to end the carnage,” made available to one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday.
Some of the CSOs, which signed the statement, are Civil Society Coalition on Sustainable Development, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Community Women’s Rights Foundation and Yiaga Africa.
They also include Gender Development Initiative, Nigerian Feminists Forum, Women Youths and Children Advancement Programme and the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development.
They called on all Nigerians to register their displeasure with the state of affairs across the country by participating in a series of mass actions from Monday, May 26, 2021.
They also encouraged Nigerians to participate in solemn assemblies across the country to commemorate the 4th National Day of mourning and remembrance of victims of mass atrocities on May 28, 2021.
“In the first quarter of 2021(January to March), we recorded an all-time quarterly high of almost 2000 fatalities from mass atrocities incidents across the country.
“This week, across the six geopolitical zones, there were escalated combustions of violence resulting in even more deaths.”
The CSOs noted that they highlighted the various forms of insecurities which were leading to loss of lives across the country, in their last joint statement issued in February 2021.
Some of them, according to the CSOs, include, the unending war in the North-East and attacks on peaceful protesters by security agents while terrorists carry out mass murder, rape, maiming and kidnapping of Nigerians including women and children.
The groups noted with concern that terrorists were being granted ‘amnesty’ and got paid by the government.
The statement also cited cases of terrorist herder attacks on unarmed farming communities and reprisal attacks in the face of government inaction and failure to bring the terrorist herdsmen and their funders to justice, as causes of loss of innocent lives.
Other instances they cited were, “Large scale terrorist attacks in the North West irresponsibly tagged by the government as ‘banditry’ in a bid to downplay their criminality.”
Also, the BBC reported that residents stated that at least 100 were killed in Shadadi town in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State on Wednesday.
The British medium, however, stated that the 100 might include abductees.
The report read in part, “Some residents of Niger State in Central Nigeria told the BBC that gunmen attacked their towns on Wednesday, killing many people and kidnapping over 100. The Wednesday attack came just days after Governor Abubakar Bello confirmed that Boko Haram was active in his state.
“The worst affected by the latest attack is Shadadi town in the Mariga Local Government Area where eyewitnesses say thousands fled after what happened.
Although the Niger State government had failed to provide a figure last week, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, said during a webinar hosted by Lagos based Pastor, Ituah Ighodalo, that he was informed by the Niger State governor that over 40 people were abducted in Agaie community, one of the towns attacked.
El-Rufai had said, “What is happening in Zamfara and Katsina states is much worse than what has ever happened in Kaduna State. I spoke to the governor of Niger State just a few moments ago and he told me that 40 people were kidnapped in Agaie yesterday (Wednesday).”
Accomplished media entrepreneur and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has said that nobody trusts President Bola Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election, including the President’s own supporters.
Momodu also noted that there is a belief that if the President does not win in 2027, he will not want to relinquish power.
He added that if Tinubu refuses to step down, he would be chased out of the Presidential Villa.
Momodu made the revelations while speaking on Arise News Prime Time belt.
“If you ask an average Nigerian today about Tinubu, ‘Do you trust Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election?’ I can tell you, 90 per cent of them will say no.
“Look, nobody trusts Tinubu to run a free and fair election, including his own supporters. They will tell you, ‘Oh, we are going to win. There is no way we won’t win.’ Ask them why, and they will say, ‘Oh, you know our oga now.’
“In fact, some people are even suggesting that if Tinubu loses the election, he will not agree to step down. I say, why won’t he agree? We will chase him away.
“Look, you do not know the determination of Nigerians. And now, I’m not resting my confidence on just my party. I’m talking about the ordinary man on the street who cannot imagine Tinubu coming back again. They just can’t.
“I can’t tell you our strategy in public. What we know is that, once upon a time, Tinubu fought for himself to secure a second term as governor of Lagos State.
“So, others are also working very hard behind the scenes. We are not going to come out in public and say this, but we know what to do to make sure that he does not get that second term. We also know that some of the people pretending to support him today—and I’m not trying to trivialise this thing.
“I know some of them. They are praying fervently that they will not have to go through this situation where governors become like houseboys. Governors are scared. Judges are scared. Legislators are scared.
“So, Tinubu has become a god whom nobody is ready to confront and say, ‘Oga, you’ve done your best. Please, go home.’”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has urged President Bola Tinubu to go home and let Nigeria breathe.
Adebayo said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.
He was responding to the President’s plan to excuse himself from the rigors of physical campaigns in some states ahead of the presidential polls.
Tinubu spoke at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, urging members to take the party’s message to Nigerians across the states and local government areas while he continues to attend to matters of governance.
In response, Adebayo argued that, if Tinubu is too tired to campaign, he is too weak to govern.
In a statement signed by his Presidential Campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the SDP standard bearer described Tinubu as a “president in absentia” at a time Nigeria needs hands-on leadership.
Adebayo said: “Nigeria is too complex, too dynamic, and currently too distressed to be governed by remote control.”
He cited what he called repeated instances of the President governing from a distance, including prolonged medical vacations disguised as working visits, absence during national emergencies and reliance on proxies to announce State policies.
Adebayo further said: “We have seen repeated instances when the President was visibly missing when the country needed reassurance.
“From unannounced foreign trips during critical economic decisions to his complete silence during widespread regional protests, he has consistently acted like a president in absentia. If you are too tired to campaign, you are too weak to govern.”
Adebayo alleged that the decision to stay off the campaign trail was not about strategy but fear.
“The excuse of bowing out of the 2027 campaign is a cowardly smokescreen. The truth is that the President is terrified of the Nigerian people,” he argued.
According to him, the administration’s economic policies – fuel subsidy removal fallout, skyrocketing inflation and currency instability -have made the President unpopular.
“He knows the pain his bad policies have inflicted on families. He is hiding because he cannot face public anger, and he knows any appearance on a campaign trail will be met with collective booing of a betrayed populace.”
Adebayo also said: “It is time to face reality: step aside, go home, and let this country breathe.”
He called on the administration to prioritise national interest over political survival and be transparent about the President’s capacity to lead for the remainder of his term.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria is set to be officially unveiled in Abuja this weekend, as the organisation prepares to strengthen the club’s fan base and promote community development through football.
Amongst the high profile personalities lined up for the unveiling ceremony include, business leaders, celebrities and notable Arsenal supporters like former Gunner, Kanu Nwankwo, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Dino Melaye amongst others.
The unveiling will form part of a two-day programme beginning on Friday, October 16, with delegates from state and city chapters expected to converge on the nation’s capital for the club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to a press release issued on Monday by the organisation, the celebrations will feature sporting activities, a community sanitation initiative and a formal launch event attended by prominent personalities and Arsenal supporters.
National President of Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria, Charles Ojugbana, said the organisation draws inspiration from the achievements of Nigerian-descent footballers, including former Super Eagles striker Kanu Nwankwo and current stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said the club aims to improve the football fan experience while expanding support for Arsenal across Nigeria.
Activities scheduled for Saturday include aerobic sessions and a novelty football match before members proceed to Wuse Market for a clean-up campaign.
As part of the outreach, the club plans to donate refuse bins and other sanitation materials to the market’s leadership, in line with its commitment to philanthropy and community development.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria operates through a governance structure comprising a Board of Trustees, a National Executive Committee and a General Assembly, which serves as the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The club also disclosed plans to promote awareness of Down syndrome among children in March 2027, as part of activities to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day.
The programme expresses the organisation’s ambition to extend its activities beyond football fandom to charitable causes and support for vulnerable members of the society.
