The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu's administration over the alarming security situation in parts of Nigeria, particularly highlighting recent incidents in Zamfara and Kwara States as evidence of what they termed a "national surrender" to criminal elements.
In a statement signed by ADC's National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party condemned the extortion of over N56 million from farmers in Zamfara State by armed bandits who demanded payment before allowing access to farmlands.
"A situation where farmers had to pay money to terrorists before they could gain access to their own farmlands, is not just a Zamfara tragedy, but a national warning. A situation where people had to abandon an entire town to bandits, in the very heart of the country, is not just a local challenge but an evidence of national surrender," the statement read.
The party also referenced disturbing footage showing a village in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State completely deserted due to bandit threats, describing it as an "eerie picture of an entire town where all the people, the young, the old and the infirm had to seek refuge elsewhere for fear of bandits attacks."
ADC expressed dismay that such breakdown of order could occur in a country with "one of the largest defence budgets in Africa," questioning whether the federal government under President Tinubu is still effectively in control of the nation's security apparatus.
"When armed gangs can collect N56m from farmers for the 'right' to plant food, the issue is no longer about insecurity. It is about criminal elements contesting the right to govern a part of Nigeria. When criminals can tax citizens at gunpoint, it means the state has surrendered its monopoly of force and state authority is in retreat," the party stated.
The statement also referenced a recent mass abduction of approximately 50 people in Zamfara, highlighting a disturbing pattern that suggests other parts of the country previously considered safe may soon face similar threats.
In a pointed critique, the ADC recalled President Tinubu's own words from 2014 when, as an opposition figure, he called for then-President Goodluck Jonathan's resignation over security challenges: "If you control the armed forces and you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, why should any part of this country be under occupation? And you give us excuses every day. In any civilized country Jonathan should have resigned."
The party noted that while they are not calling for Tinubu's resignation, they questioned why the President considered political tensions in Rivers State serious enough for a possible state of emergency but has remained silent on Zamfara's security collapse.
"We also ask the pertinent question, why did the President think that the security situation in Rivers State warranted the declaration of state of emergency, but the one in Zamfara with industrial scale kidnapping and a direct challenge to the authority of the Nigerian State by way of bandit tax does not even deserve a direct comment from him?" the statement questioned.
The ADC concluded with a stark warning: "If the Tinubu administration cannot guarantee the safety of our farms and farming communities, if people could be forced to abandon their homes out of fear, then it has failed in its most basic responsibility. You cannot boast that you are in charge of your country while your citizens are negotiating their survival with criminals."
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