Insecurity: Rise to the occasion or resign, RULAAC tells Buhari

Following rising cases of insecurity in the country especially in the Southeast, an advocacy group, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to forestall security challenges in Nigeria or resign immediately.

The group made the call in a statement by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, on Wednesday.

RULAAC lamented at the incessant attacks on police stations and killings in Nigeria, especially in the Southeast region.

The group wondered how the security challenges confronting Nigeria could be addressed when security officers who are to protect the citizens are left at the mercy of criminals.

RULAAC expressed dismay at the level of lawlessness in Nigeria especially in the Southeast, adding that the rule of law has been supplanted by rule of bandits who operate without resistance from the police and other law enforcement agencies.

It warned that when police cannot defend themselves from the same criminals they are supposed to combat, then society is in trouble.

The statement read in part: “RULAAC is seriously concerned about the unprecedented levels of insecurity in Nigeria, but even more worryingly, the daily incidents of attack on police stations and killing of policemen and policewomen everywhere in Nigeria, especially in the Southeast.

“We understand the sentiments of those who appear to view this unfortunate development merely as attacks on the police and those who seem to say ‘it serves the police right’.

“We understand that many may have been direct or indirect victims and/or witnesses of police violence and sundry atrocities. But we must not lose sight of the deeper implications of this sad development. What is happening is not just attack on the police. It is above all, attack on public order, on rule of law and ultimately on public safety and security.

“The Police are charged to serve and protect the citizens from crime and insecurity. In the absence of the police, the citizens are exposed to crime and insecurity and are left at the mercy of criminals.

“When the Police loses the capacity to protect, to the extent that they are not even able to defend themselves from the same criminals they are supposed to combat, then society is in trouble.

“Law and order have completely broken down in Nigeria. Rule of law has been supplanted by rule of bandits who operate without resistance from the police and other law enforcement agencies. ‘Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world’ and governments at state and federal levels have no answer to this state of lawlessness that warrants a declaration of a state of emergency.

“This is not something to gloat or be happy about. It’s a serious cause for concern.”

RULAAC, which noted that the primary purpose of government is welfare and security of its citizens, said the Federal Government has failed in discharging its primary duty.

It called on President Buhari to either rise to the occasion and make Nigeria a safe place or throw in the towel urgently.