Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has called for a declaration of a state of emergency on insecurity in northern Nigeria.
It condemned the recent killing of more than 20 soldiers in an ambush near Bangi in Mariga local government area of Niger State, describing it as a grim indicator of total security collapse in Northern Nigeria.
In a press statement issued yesterday by the spokesman, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, the group said the attack carried out by heavily armed terrorists on Tuesday was not an isolated incident but a declaration of war against the Nigerian state.
“More than 20 uniformed men, defenders of the nation were slaughtered like animals,” said Jiddere, “This is not just an attack, it is a declaration of war, and the state is losing,” the statement said and lamented what it called an “unrelenting campaign of terror” across the North, citing recent attacks in Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno and Niger states. According to the forum, the region is now under siege by terrorists who operate with impunity, while the government remains either “unable or unwilling” to stop them.
The forum said, “This barbaric assault is only the latest chapter in the ongoing bloodbath, entire communities are being wiped out, homes torched, lives shattered, and still, the killers roam freely.”
He accused the federal government of failing in its constitutional duty to protect lives and property, declaring that the patience of northern citizens had run out.
“The Northern Elders Forum will no longer accept hollow condolences, tired speeches, or sterile press releases,” the statement said, “If the federal government continues to delay, deflect, or downplay this crisis, Nigerians will have no choice but to believe that this inaction is willful or worse, complicit.”
As a response, the NEF apart from immediate declaration of a state of emergency on security in Northern Nigeria, urged the deployment of joint military and intelligence operations with a mandate to locate and eliminate all armed groups.
“The blood of northern Nigerians is not cheap. Our soldiers are not cannon fodder,” the Forum said, “We will not be silent. The North will not kneel before terror.”
It also warned of potential consequences should the federal government fail to act decisively, including possible open resistance by citizens who feel abandoned.
“The legitimacy of any government that cannot or will not protect its citizens is gone. Enough is enough.”
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