The Ulama Forum has advised President Muhammadu Buhari and state governors to sit up to their responsibilities of safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians.
In a press statement titled, “We Are At War: Let’s All Face It,” the forum said the Boko Haram insurgency had led to the death of thousands of innocent lives and caused hardship to the entire people of the North-East and North-West regions of Nigeria.
In the press statement pushed out on Wednesday by the Convener and Secretary of the Ulama Forum, Mallam Aminu Inuwa Mohammad, the group gave a catalogue of the violent crimes perpetrated by bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram in the Northern region.
It listed the recent abduction of schoolboys from a secondary school at Kankara in Katsina State and the gruesome killing of 43 rice farmers in Borno State as well as the incessant kidnappings on campuses of tertiary institutions as some of the disturbing occurrences across the country.
The Ulama Forum which is a collaborative forum of Scholars, academics, professionals and leaders of Muslim organizations closely monitoring religious and social issues in the country, communicating, collaborating and conducting extensive researches to unravel Shari’ah rulings and offer advice to all segments of the society, lamented thatthe growing public disenchantment in the region over the deterioration of security.
“The Ulama Forum viewed with serious concern the apparent failure of government (at all levels) and the security agencies, to contain the raging insecurity in the region.
“Members of the Forum observe with all sense of responsibility that unless immediate and decisive actions are taken to halt this dangerous slide into the dark abyss, our beloved country, Nigeria, will collapse sooner than later, creating the worst humanitarian crisis in recent history,” the statement read.
The forum comprising over 40 members recommended that a state of emergency be declared, “And establish a National Task Force on Security (NTFS). State Governors should also set up a State Task Force on Security (STFS).
“The NTFS/STFS, which will comprise professionals and security experts, eminent personalities and responsible members of the community to, among other things:
“Coordinate and provide complete synergy between all security agencies, monitor and regularly report progress to the President/Governor while updating the public with unclassified information and guidance.
“Collaborate with and between the states in gathering intelligence, mobilizing communities and documenting challenges and progress in the security and peaceful coexistence within and across neighbouring the states.
“To identify and track suspicious persons and movements, criminals’ hideouts, flashpoints and all sensitive intelligence and notify relevant authorities accordingly.”
