The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has written a strongly worded letter to Presi­dent Bola Tinubu, decrying the spate of insecurity in the country.

President of NBA, Yakubu Maik­yau (SAN), in the letter dated February 14, and addressed to President Tinubu, observed that the length and breadth of Nigeria is bedeviled by challenges of in­security in alarming proportions.

The NBA president noted the ravag­ing activities of bandits, terrorists, to the scourge of kidnapping for ransom and other forms of criminal activities, adding that bloodshed has become a daily occur­rence, and the news of these dastardly incidents pervade the airwaves and psyche of Nigerians, sending shock and fear to the populace.

“These criminal activities have left many Nigerians home­less, many families and business­es completely destroyed and these incidents, rather than abate are clearly on the rise.

“From the kidnap of pupils and their teachers in Ekiti to the continued onslaught on the peo­ple in the North-Western states; the killings and massacre in Pla­teau, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, the de­struction of electricity infrastruc­ture in Bauchi; the murders in Anambra, Imo, Enugu and other parts of the country, not excepting the Federal Capital Territory — the seat of the government of the federation”, Maikyau stated.

He told President Tinubu that there is literally no part of the country that is not enmeshed in one form of insecurity challenge or the other, stressing that what makes the entire situation even more disturbing is the increasing boldness of the perpetrators.

“Security personnel, who have the responsibility of securing the lives and properties of Nigerians, have apparently been unable to effectively stem the spread of the violent crimes across the country.

“What used to be at the fringes of the country (bad as it was) has now taken the centre-stage.

“The entire country is under siege by terrorists, bandits, and criminal gangs. It is no longer easily determinable, if not impos­sible, which square kilometre of the Nigerian territory is under the authority or control of the Federal Government of Nigeria”, Maikyau said.

He bemoaned the situation whereby criminality dots all over the space known as the Nigerian territory, in a manner that dimin­ishes the presence of law enforce­ment agencies, which directly chal­lenges the sovereignty of Nigeria.

“This is particularly so when we hear that the said bandits and terrorists are foreign nationals.

“If the activities of foreign nationals have been responsible for this high level of insecurity in our nation when the country is not at war, these criminal ele­ments go on to boldly record and send out videos on social media platforms boasting about their strongholds within the territory of the Nigerian state and suffer no consequence for so doing, then there is more to it than meets the eye, and Nigerians need to be bet­ter informed of the nature of the insecurity they are dealing with.

“The unfortunate incident in Bodija Area, Ibadan, Oyo State, which left many dead and sev­eral properties destroyed with craters all over the area, from the explosion that rocked the city on January 16, 2024, is one that clear­ly speaks to a fundamental failure of Nigeria’s security architecture and operational capabilities. That the perpetrator(s) of this heinous crime is said to be a Malian na­tional is heartrending by itself and all we hear is that the culprit is yet to be apprehended.

“The question is, how did we get to the place of allowing anyone, whether a citizen or not to store ex­plosives in any part of Nigeria, let alone a residential area with the capacity of wrecking such havoc on our people? There are law-abid­ing citizens who have worked their entire lives and from their meagre income, gratuity, and pension, built their retirement homes, only to become homeless overnight, due to the actions or inactions of some government officials, who will allow explosives to be stored in such a location.

“Those involved must be iden­tified and prosecuted for their ac­tions, while those who suffered losses due to no fault of theirs, deserve to be compensated”, the NBA demanded.

He stated that some Nigerians have lost, and many more are fast losing confidence in the ability of the Federal Government to deal with the security situation in Nigeria.

At this time, when public con­fidence in the sincerity of govern­ment in dealing with insecurity is at its lowest ebb, the NBA rec­ommended a government people engagement, that will at the min­imum, inform the people (to the extent that security protocol may allow) about what is being done to secure the nation.

“Alternatively, let there be clear indicators that, indeed, government is sincerely paying attention to the plight of the people and is committed to its constitutional responsibility of providing security for the lives and properties of Nigerians”, the NBA stated.

“Unfortunately, however, gov­ernment posturing appears to be far from this expectation. When for instance, in the face of these challenges and daily experienc­es of Nigerians, the National As­sembly embarks on projects for their personal welfare, involving humongous amounts of money and the requests are indulged by the executive, that is not a posture that will give Nigerians any hope.

“My recommendation, there­fore, is for this government led by Mr. President, to have the right mindset, strategy, and tac­tics, in dealing with the menace of insecurity and doing so will see government invest heavily in the sector, both in terms of equip­ment and manpower.

“I am confident that this is do­able and can be achieved under the current administration if the right measures are deployed ur­gently, as a matter of emergency.

“The resolve of the military and other security agencies to deal with this menace is also not in doubt, but government must put them in the position to discharge their constitutional re­sponsibilities. Government must also watch very closely for selfish elements who may not wish this situation to abate because of their personal benefits.

“People who leverage on the woes of fellow countrymen to en­rich themselves or further their cause of whatever nature, must be stopped by all means.

“We condemn these attacks across the country in the stron­gest terms; the bloodletting is inhuman, barbaric, and satanic to say the least.

“Anyone who by his acts or omissions, contributed to the government’s loss of control over any part of our territory, should be tried for treason.”