African Caribbean Conservative Association Rejects MURIC’s 14-Day Ultimatum To Defence Minister

The African Caribbean Conservative Association (ACCA), has rejected the 14-day ultimatum issued by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) to the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd.), over insecurity in Sokoto State, describing the demand as institutionally misplaced and unrealistic.

MURIC had demanded that the Defence Minister stop the killings and insecurity in Sokoto within 14 days or resign. But ACCA, in a statement signed by its founder and chairman, Mr Dixon Coker, said while Nigerians had the right to demand improved security and accountability, responsibility for combating terrorism, banditry and kidnapping could not be reduced to the office of one minister.

The association said Nigeria’s security architecture involved the Presidency, Armed Forces, police, intelligence agencies, state and local governments, traditional institutions and community leaders. It noted that the Defence Minister’s responsibilities included defence policy, strategic direction, administration, oversight and coordination, while military operations were conducted through established command structures.

ACCA described as “unfair and overly simplistic” any suggestion that the minister alone could guarantee that no attack would occur in Sokoto within 14 days. It said accountability should be based on constitutional responsibilities, facts and measurable performance rather than arbitrary deadlines issued by pressure groups.

The association also questioned MURIC’s demand that Sokoto become “impregnable and unassailable” within 14 days, saying counterterrorism required sustained intelligence gathering, surveillance, military operations, community engagement, border control, disruption of criminal financing and prosecution.

According to ACCA, security agencies should instead be assessed on measurable progress in preventing attacks, protecting communities, rescuing victims and degrading the operational capacity of criminal groups. It said the people of Sokoto needed security measures that would enable farmers to return to their farms, children to attend schools safely and travellers to use highways without fear.

ACCA commended security agencies for what it described as intensified operations against bandits in Sokoto, saying sustained military action, intelligence-led interventions and cooperation among security institutions remained more effective responses to insecurity than public ultimatums.

It urged the federal government to provide the Armed Forces and other security agencies with adequate equipment, intelligence, manpower and logistics, while calling for stronger efforts to identify and dismantle networks financing and supplying terrorist and bandit groups.

The association also warned against framing insecurity along religious or regional lines, stressing that Muslims, Christians and Nigerians from different ethnic backgrounds had suffered from terrorism, banditry and kidnapping. It called on MURIC to withdraw its ultimatum and engage the federal government and security institutions constructively.

Coker said ACCA was not defending failure or negligence in public office but advocating an institutional approach to tackling insecurity.

“Nigeria cannot defeat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping through blame games. We need intelligence, strategy, resources, coordination, courage and sustained action,” he said.