The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWGN) has hailed the freedom of 28 Bethel Baptist High School students in Chikum local government area of Kaduna state.
MMWG National Coordinator Abdullahi Ibrahim gave the commendation in a statement Sunday in Ilorin, Kwara state.
He condemned the ‘siege’ laid by criminals on Nigerians, especially in the northern states, and therefore “called on the Security Agencies especially the Military, the Police and Department of Security Services to upscale their efforts in curbing the violent crimes of kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria.
“The Nation’s intelligence and security mechanism ought to have located the dens of these criminals and be able to track them down since they started their nefarious activities several years back.”
While commending the federal government’s efforts at arresting the wave of crimes across the country, MMWGN noted that “the failure of terrorists to release the kidnapped 137 children of an Islamiyyah School in Tegina, Niger State is a serious challenge to the FG and the Niger State Government. Equally a challenge is the recurring kidnapping in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi and Katsina States.”
“The information that some of the children kidnapped from Islamiyyah Schools in Tegina are kept somewhere near Shiroro also in Niger State, is disturbing as Security and State Government officials keeping mum over this issue inspite of the hardship on these children leading to the death of three of them already.
“MMWG called on the all concerned in Governments to urgently relieve agonising Parents & Guardians of grieve by doing the needful to set the innocent children free while efforts should be made to capture alive those tormenting Nigeria with these crimes so that they could be made to face the law, the statement added.
Also, on Saturday’s local governments’ elections, the group stated that the low-turn-out of voters in Lagos and Ogun states confirmed that the electorates were tired of deceitful polls.
The group said “several demands for justice, transparency and accountability in LG elections which made citizens to demand for scrapping of States’ Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC), the Nation continued with undemocratic process where State Governments choose whoever will contest, organise and supervise same elections and award all results in their own favour. This the Group said is fraudulent, unjust, unacceptable and unsustainable.
“Muslim Media Watch Group therefore called on the National Assembly to amend the relevant portion of the 1999 Constitution to give the National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to organise LG Elections and scrap States Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC) without further delay”.
