Insecurity: Editors Blast Govs For Irresponsible Statements; Hit Gumi for Attack on Media

The Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, rose from its standing committee meeting, and came down hard on some governors who, in the wake of recent controversies on bandits and killer-herders who have gone on rampage kidnapping, killing and maiming innocent Nigerians using forest reserves as safe haven.

At the heat of the controversy, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, had backed AK 47-weilding killer-herders, saying they were bearing the lethal weapon for self-defence, and that nobody can stop anyone from operating in Nigeria’s forests. The forests belong to no particular state or region, he argued.

Mohammed’s comments stoked a natioanl umbrage against him, forcing him to retract the statement saying he used AK 47 as a figure of speech. But he later doubled down on the defence of the criminal herders to the consternation offellow governors and nigerians ofgoodwill.

The NGE also lambasted the Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, who, in a recent television interview, attacked journalists for daring to classify the criminals rampaging the North West, kidnapping, killing and maiming innocent Nigerians as bandits. Gumi would prefer to see the criminals as ‘insurgents’ or ‘fredom fighters’, even though the bandits have never claimed they were waging any ideological war against Nigeria.

Below is the full text of the communique:

COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE NIGERIAN GUILD OF EDITORS (NGE) HELD ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021, AT EDITORS’ HOUSE, IKEJA, LAGOS STATE.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) condemns the incessant abduction of students by bandits in parts of the country.

The Guild is worried that, the spate of abductions, if not checked, could discourage parents from sending their children to school and thereby lead to a further increase in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

We strongly believe that children have the right to education and schools should be made safe for them to learn, therefore, a comprehensive security plan should be put in place by all levels of government to prevent further abductions of students. Going to school to acquire knowledge is not a crime.

In the same vein, the Guild calls on the Nigerian government to urgently revisit the Safe School Initiative, with a view to implementing it for the benefit of Nigerian children.

The body of editors believes that dialogue and amnesty for bandits have not been positively impactful and therefore, it should be discouraged.

The Guild aligns with the advice of President Muhammadu Buhari to state governors, to stop giving cash and other materials, such as vehicles to bandits, because such overtures could empower them to carry out more abductions.

The Guild condemns a statement credited to an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, describing journalists as criminals. Sheikh Gumi had accused media professionals of adding to insecurity in the country by the names used in describing bandits. He levelled the accusation when he featured on Arise Television, suggesting that ‘nice’ words should be used to describe bandits, if the nation desired that they surrender.

Sheikh Gumi and his ilks are hereby reminded that journalists don’t create events, they merely report them. Also, journalists should not be expected to eulogise a group of people that abducts innocent children and others at will.

The Guild also denounces the choice of words by some governors who commented on the state of insecurity in the country. They are reminded that holding public office comes with enormous responsibilities. Those who do not have solutions to the current security situation should not aggravate it with irresponsible public comments. This is no time to play to the gallery.

The Guild calls on the government to live up to its fundamental responsibility of securing the lives and property of Nigerians. The new Service Chiefs should devise a new strategy to rid the nation’s forests of bandits and other criminal elements.

The Guild also believes that the anti-corruption fight of the Federal Government should be sustained in a credible manner. The new Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, should ensure that investigations are well conducted before arrests are made.  The practice of arresting suspects, parading them for corruption-related offences and then looking for evidence to nail them should be discarded.

Mustapha Isah                                           Mary Atolagbe
President                                                    General Secretary
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