The Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, has expressed worry over the attack on the convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina and the invasion of Kuje Prison in Abuja.
In a statement on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Jare Ajayi, Afenifere stated that both attacks have indicated that the security situation in the country had gone from bad to worse.
Ajayi asserted that the attack on the President’s convoy and the bombing of Kuje prison was a signal to the Buhari government to address the nation’s worsening insecurity.
He noted that the attacks have also shown that the terrorists are not scared of the security agencies and can strike anywhere and at anytime.
The statement reads: “The nature of these attacks should send serious signals to the governments, to the security agencies and indeed to all Nigerians. The one on the Presidential Team seems to be a coded language by enemies of the nation that they are not afraid of anyone notwithstanding the status of such a person.
“For, it goes without saying that a Presidential Team would normally be fortified. So, for a group to attack such a team must be out of sheer bravado – which unfortunately further exposed how vulnerable our security situation is.
“The attack on Kuje Correctional Centre, like some other attacks that occurred in such areas, “appears to be a statement by those enemies of Nigeria that they can strike anywhere and at any time.
“For, this Kuje attack, taken together with the fatal attack on a military team in Niger State last month, keeps reminding one of the build-ups of the Afghanistan saga that led to the forceful take-over of government in that country last year. Everything needs to be done to ensure that such does not occur here.
“The situation would not have degenerated to this sorry pass. By this, we are referring to the kid-glove manner by which the government and its security arms have been dealing with those caught in banditry and terrorism.
“Normally, anyone around the President or Governor ought to have a sense of safety just as the presence of government ought to be an assurance for the citizens regarding their security.
“The attacks on the Presidential Team and on Kuje Prison, like the ones that had taken place in different parts of the country before, make Nigerians feel more and more insecure. On a number of times, armed bandits have attacked governors, particularly those of Borno and Benue.
“They have attacked transport centres like airport and rail lines as well as military and police formations. These are places one should have a sense of the highest safety and security.
“Their attacks on religious places and on clerics seem to have become a routine. In that kind of situation, people’s sense of helplessness became heightened.”
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