Crime has no ethnic face. When criminality is defined according to ethnic origin or religion, social cohesion is threatened. There are people of criminal inclinations in every group, race, place and religion. In fact, we defeat the fight against insecurity if we lend ourselves to ethnic prejudices.
By Deji Elumoye in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna
President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, yesterday gave the armed forces a pass mark in battling insecurity, notwithstanding the challenges facing them.
He said their efforts are paying off as the security crisis confronting the country is gradually being reversed.
He spoke on a day a northern group, under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to step up efforts to end the siege of Boko Haram, bandits and kidnappers in the region.
Lawan, while hosting a delegation from Adamawa State that came to thank the National Assembly for converting the Modibbo Adama University, Yola, into a conventional university that can run medical programmes alongside social and management sciences said recent developments showed an improvement in efforts by the armed forces in combating insecurity.
Crime has no ethnic face. When criminality is defined according to ethnic origin or religion, social cohesion is threatened. There are people of criminal inclinations in every group, race, place and religion. In fact, we defeat the fight against insecurity if we lend ourselves to ethnic prejudices. The insecurity devouring Nigeria affects everyone – Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Idoma, Jukun and people of different religions. The criminals pillaging the country do not select victims based on ethnicity and religion. The devourers only come to steal, kill and destroy.
A few days ago, bandits invaded the home of Professor Aliyu Mohammed at Wusasa in Zaira, Kaduna state. They kidnapped him, killed his young son and shot his brother – not minding his religion or ethnicity. There have been countless cases of attacks on commuters on Abuja-Kaduna road. The victims of these attacks have been Nigerians of all shades and contours.
Armed bandits have attacked and killed one person each in Igabi and Zaria local Government Areas of Kaduna State. However, local vigilantes repelled an