TheCable

The National Democratic Front (NDF) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in Borno state, following the renewed spate of insecurity.

Abdulkadir Bolaji, secretary general of the group, made the demand at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

NDF was reacting to the killing of about 30 persons in Auno area of the state by Boko Haram.

His speech below:

Early this week, the nation woke up to the news of another round of violence, mayhem, arson and bloodletting by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.”

In that particular incident, which happened at Auno, a little town few kilometers to the Borno State capital, Maiduguri and where a gate had been constructed to prevent sudden attacks by insurgents through the major road leading to the state capital, more than 30 persons were said to have been killed while many other were wounded and left for dead and property worth millions of naira burnt to ashes.

With gory tales of humans burnt alive, it was a tragedy of enormous proportion that could only have been done by the worst dregs of humans.
Borno State which has suffered much pains and sorrow due to the activities of these terrorists over the years and certainly does not deserve another round of such heinous crime and wanton bloodletting.

We sympathize with the people of the state over this tragedy and pray for fortitude for the families of those who have lost loved ones to bear the losses.

While we join the rest of the world to mourn this tragedy, we must not lose sight of the fact that the sudden resurgence of violence and the boldness exhibited by the terrorist groups operating in the fringes of the Northeast of Nigeria are not beyond human conspiracies.

We note particularly that it was few days after the governor of Borno state, Prof. Babagana Zulum made the infamous statement that security agents who have sacrificed their lives to ensure the safety of other citizens are extorting money from motorists and other travelers that the violence on the road escalated.

Information serves as signals to troops and other armed groups in conflict as it exposes the readiness or otherwise of the warring sides.

We also call on the Federal government to declare a state of emergency in Borno State to forestall further attacks.