The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has said that the administration of President Muhamadu Buhari has failed to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians.
NEF’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, made this known on Thursday while reacting to a report released by a research firm, SBM Intelligence.
The report titled, ‘Nigeria at war: Combatant casualties Q4 2020 to Q3 2021’ revealed 985 security operatives were killed in the last year.
It stated that 973 Boko Haram members, 1,989 bandits, 100 IPOB members, 88 kidnappers and nine militants were also gunned down between October 2020 and September 2021.
In an interview with Vanguard, Baba-Ahmed said that the Buhari government has not done enough to secure the nation.
He advised the government to step up its effort in the fight against insurgents and bandits killing innocent Nigerians.
He said, “The nation is being threatened and damaged at unprecedented levels. Whatever governments are doing to secure citizens, communities and the nation are obviously not enough.
‘Yet we have to demand that leaders improve their responses to these threats. If leaders cannot protect and secure us, citizens have a right to question their continuation in power.
We cannot protect ourselves from armed criminality without jeopardizing our own security. However, governments make it difficult (for citizens) to exercise their rights to protest failures. We are in very difficult circumstances.”
