TheCable

The presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of failing in his responsibilities as commander-in-chief of the country.

Accusing the president of sacrificing the welfare of security personnel for political gains, Sheu Garba, director of media and publicity of the council, criticised Jonathan for not handling the killing of over 100 security agents by Ombatse, a cult group in Nasarawa.

The security personnel were ambushed and massacred in May 2013 while going to arrest the spiritual leader of the notorious group.

“The attitude of the Jonathan government to the cruel fate that befell more than 100 policemen and operatives of the Directorate of the State Security Services (DSS) who lost their lives to the Ombatse cult in Nasarawa state, last year, is yet the most glaring example of how callous and uncaring a government which claims to be democratic can be,” Garba said in a statement.

“In serious countries, the government does not toy with the lives and well-being of its security men such that any act of violence visited on the personnel of the security establishment is tantamount to an assault on the nation as a whole.

“The action of the US and French authorities when terrorists attacked their Police personnel on duty is a case in point. These governments did not rest until the perpetrators were eliminated and investigation is still continuing to get to the root cause of the assault to prevent future occurrence.

“In the case of the Ombatse killings of our security men, the administration of President Jonathan displayed incredible levity that shocked the nation and left a sour taste in the mouth of relations and families of the unfortunate slain security men.”

The campaign body claimed that although the president had been giving the impression that he cares about the security agents, he was only exploiting them for political gains.

“The president should reflect on the way he handled the massacre of the nation’s policemen and DSS operatives. This becomes necessary because President Jonathan has been telling the country during his ongoing political campaign that he cares about our security personnel.

“It is for reason of political exigency and to carry on with his ‘gentleman image’ who cannot hurt a fly that the president has failed continuously as a commander-in-chief, unable to mobilise the security forces and to provide them with the necessary leadership to accomplish their objective.”