The Action Congress of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to review its tactics in fighting terrorism in the country, saying the deadly bombing of a church in Kaduna on Sunday has shown the limitation of the government’s current tactics.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the senseless suicide bombing that led to the death of eight persons and left 145 others injured, showed that those perpetrating acts of terror in the country have yet to be curtailed, despite the chest beating by the authorities over their supposed progress in the fight against terror.
While describing as ungodly and cruel the attack that affected mostly children and women in Kaduna, the ACN said the government must urgently evolve a measure that will protect innocent citizens from the terrorists and the security agencies and curtail the ability of the insurgents to strike at a time and place of their own choosing.
The ACN said even before Sunday’s attacks against innocent worshippers in Kaduna, the rate at which innocent people were being killed, in attacks and reprisals between the security forces and the insurgents, is so alarming that it cannot justify whatever modest success the government may claim to have achieved in the battle against the attackers.
The party said the worst hit areas in recent times include Potiskum, Yobe State where an ongoing cordon-and-search operation by the security forces has apparently attracted a backlash from the insurgents, who have consequently been accused of killing innocent civilians in the most gory of ways.
The statement added: “Within the space of a few days in Potiskum last week, many innocent citizens were slaughtered like animals.
“The victims, according to published reports, included a retired customs officer and his doctor son; a retired police officer, his wife and three children; as well as a tractor driver and six of his children.
“Nothing in the world can justify these mindless killings!”
The ACN also said the accusations and counter-accusations by the security forces and the sect in Maiduguri, Borno State, where many innocent citizens have been killed and property worth millions destroyed in attacks and counter-attacks, make it extremely urgent for the government to review its tactics and see if they are worth the innocent lives being lost.
The party said: ”Add this to the incessant and shocking bombing of churches and academic institutions, the inexplicable attack on the UN offices in Abuja and the senseless destruction of telecommunications masts, just to mention a few, and it is clear that the nation cannot afford to allow this crisis to linger, even when it must also avoid a scorched-earth response that can only hurt innocent citizens who are themselves victims of the insurgency and should be protected.”
The ACN recalled a recent report by the rights group, Human Rights Watch, that both the security forces and the sect may have been guilty of crimes against humanity
The report said, inter alia: “The unlawful killing by both Boko Haram and Nigerian security forces only grows worse; both sides need to halt this downward spiral…Nigeria’s government should swiftly bring to justice the Boko Haram members and security agents who have committed these serious crimes.
”We at the ACN agree with this report and urge the government to explore other means, including dialogue which we have consistently advocated, to end the slow-motion insurgency that has claimed hundreds of lives since 2009 when it started.
“Every human life that is lost to this senseless crisis is one precious life too many, and these gory killings demean our humanity and call to question our claim to civilization. That is why the government must leave no stone unturned to end the insurgency, within the realms of international human rights law.”
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