A civil society group, The Concerned Road Travellers of Nigeria (CORTRAN) has called on security agencies to urgently clamp down on politicians who are instigating violence and supporting criminal elements, saying doing otherwise would aggravate the security challenges in the country.
The group made the call at a press conference in Lagos addressed by its convener, Mr Toyin Raheem, and other leaders, including Sina Ishola, Mathieu Olaiya, and Kehinde Okoya, among others in attendance.
Specifically, the group demanded the security agencies invite a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial Candidate in Kogi for allegedly instigating violence with what they teemed unfounded inflammatory statements that amounted to a hate campaign on national television, in relation to a terror suspect, Shafiu Fari Ahmed, now in custody in the state.
Addressing a press conference, the convener of the group, Raheem said the alleged veiled energetic defence of a terror suspect by the candidate and an attempt to rubbish a raid carried out by a security agency was not only suspicious but reprehensible.
According to him, inviting the politician for questioning with the aim of ridding the larger society of hate campaigns that could lead to bloodshed among the ethnic groups in Nigeria will give millions of Nigerian road users the assurance that their safety is secure, especially when plying Lokoja-Abuja road which he described as largely strategic and unavoidable for many travellers in the country.
Raheem, a Labour Party (LP) House of Assembly candidate in Lagos State in the forthcoming general election, described the allegations by the candidate on national television, that Fari Ahmed was picked by the government of the day because he crossed from one political party to the other, as “condemnable and a threat to the current peace being enjoyed in Kogi State.”
He said: “I cannot imagine myself promoting violence against a people I plan to represent or be seen to be a sympathiser of violent criminals or terrorists. As I have been emphasising, Kogi State is strategically located between the South and the North and anything that affects its security, affects most Nigerians.
“Therefore, it is unfathomable that any politician for whatever reason(s) would be seen to be directly instigating violence with unfounded inflammatory statements that could be termed hate campaign on National TV, in relation to terror suspects in Kogi State or anywhere for that matter.
“It is in this respect that we strongly condemn the recent attempt to rubbish the job of our security agencies by a Kogi State politician who is also seeking election to the National Assembly. We have colleagues everywhere in Nigeria and we know what is going on in Kogi State.
“How would you expect to make people believe that a terror suspect that was reportedly nabbed by the DSS, was picked by the government of the day because he crossed from one political party to the other?
“A review of the politician’s interviews should, ordinarily, compel security agencies in Nigeria to invite the person for questioning with the aim of ridding the larger society of hate campaigns that can lead to bloodshed among the ethnic groups in Nigeria,” he said.
“If Kogi State is allowed to degenerate again into an insecure haven where violence and bloodshed are allowed to reign, that space won’t be safe for millions of Nigerians who pass through there on a daily basis,” he warned.
“We, therefore, call on relevant security agencies, specifically the Department of State Services, DSS, to immediately invite the candidate for a comprehensive investigation to determine her real involvement with the detained terror suspect with the aim of halting any potential breakdown of law and order in that state. Politicians seeking elective posts must conduct themselves with decorum and whip supporters into line once they err.”
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