A coalition of civil society organisations united in ending instability in the country especially in the South-east region has called on all stakeholders to sheath their swords and embrace peace.
The organisation noted that no amount of civil disobedience including the popular sit-at-home observed every Monday in the region can bring about stability to the region.
The coalition comprising of Rising-Up for a United Nigeria, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, Southeast Peace and Development Initiative, Arewa Youth Patriotic Front, Guardians of Democracy and Development, Independent Public Service Accountability Watch and the National Youth Council of Nigeria at a press conference in Abuja voiced their concern over the escalating tensions and disturbing developments in the South-eastern region of Nigeria and emphasised the dire consequences of the actions, which include economic stagnation, increased violence, loss of life and irreversible damage.
Speaking on behalf of the group, president, NYCN, Ambassador Solomon Adodo, urged swift action to address the escalating turmoil in the South- east which has been grappling with criminal activities carried out by non-state actors and those claiming to represent various causes.
The coalition, representing over one hundred million Nigerian youth and middle-aged citizens, expressed deep dismay at the situation in the South-east, drawing parallels with the Boko Haram terrorism in the North-east.
“It has become highly imperative that these dastardly developments that are retrogressive be condemned and all appropriate measures emplaced to halt and reverse same.
We must alert the public, the security agencies and indeed the international community that all the signs and trappings of the Boko Haram terrorism and sundry menace of terrorism in the North-east have sadly become evident in the tragic developments in the South-east. This must therefore be arrested immediately and firmly so,” he said.
