JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has advised political office holders and other politically connected stakeholders to postpone political calculations ahead of the 2027 elections and face the worsening insecurity that threatens lives, communities and livelihoods nationwide.
Reacting on Friday to rising insecurity, the forum lamented that ongoing attacks, killings and kidnappings had created an atmosphere of fear and despair in several states, and accused political office holders of paying more attention to elections and re-elections than to the security crisis.
The group’s National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur. Muhammad-Baba, described the growing insecurity in the country as “serious”, and that it was down to the government’s “inaction”.
The forum asked the authorities two questions: “How much more senseless violence, kidnapping and bloodshed must be experienced to warrant appropriate action” and “when will political office holders prioritize security over the issue of a political election or re-election?”
According to an ACF spokesperson, armed non-state actors increasingly operate with impunity while innocent citizens continue to suffer the consequences through killings, kidnappings, displacement and disruption of economic activity.
“Most concerning is the degree to which non-state armed actors are allowed free rein to commit violence against citizens, disrupt livelihoods, displace populations and impose a state of anarchy, disillusionment and despair on society,” the forum said.
The ACF expressed particular concern over what they described as the increasing preoccupation of political office holders and other politically connected stakeholders with the 2027 elections.
“Elected officials and other politically connected stakeholders seem more concerned and obsessed with the upcoming 2027 elections,” he said, lamenting that “organizing governance has become a distant priority.”
The forum cited recent security incidents in Zamfara, Plateau, Taraba, Benue, Niger, Katsina, Kogi and Kaduna states as evidence of the worsening situation.
The group said Zamfara continued to witness repeated attacks by armed groups, with five separate incidents reported in one day during the period under review.
“Almost every day, attacks occur in various locations in Zamfara State, as if the state has become a killing field,” ACF said.
It also raised concerns over the continued kidnapping of children and other citizens across the country, saying “many children remain in the hands of terrorists in Borno, Kwara and other states.”
The forum however noted that several children kidnapped in Oyo State during the same period had been rescued and reunited with their families.
They further expressed concern over reports of kidnappings and ransom demands in Chikun Local Government Area and other communities in and around Kaduna metropolitan city.
In Imo State, the ACF said several National Youth Service Corps recruits who traveled to report to camps were also abducted in recent times.
The forum said the incidents they highlighted represent only a small part of the broader security challenges facing the country.
They also criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, arguing that insecurity received insufficient attention.
“President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s Independence Commemoration Speech in Nigeria, delivered in a matter-of-fact manner, mentioned only one brief sentence about insecurity, as if it were just a vindictive and annoying footnote,” the ACF said.
The forum therefore called on the Federal Government to make the protection of lives and property a top priority, and warned that the country must not allow the security situation to further deteriorate.
“Each new incident of insecurity should become an all too frequent occurrence.
“As time quickly passes, election campaigns must give way to addressing insecurity,” he said.
“Without a doubt, the ACF insists that now is the time to stop politics and end the killings,” the spokesperson added.
