The 36 state governors say they will ask President Muhammadu Buhari to sack security chiefs if they cannot stop the current wave of killings in the country.
But the governors first want to interface with the security chiefs to let them “understand where we are and how this thing (killings) is depleting the relationship among the citizens”.
Their chairman, Abdulaziz Yari, said Friday in Jos, the Plateau State capital that the security chiefs must keep going or “else, we have no option than to ask the President to relieve them,” of their responsibility.
Yari, governor of Zamfara State spoke when he led a delegation of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) to Jos to commiserate with Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau on the recent murder of 86 people in parts of the state by herdsmen.
The killings occurred in Barkin-Ladi, Riyom, Jos South Local Government Areas of the state on Sunday, June 24.
The governors stressed the need for an immediate end to the killings lest the killers turn on the rulers in the course of time.
Yari said:“We want to come together as a family to fight this menace because the killers are everywhere. How can we watch these evil people killing our people ?
“We encourage Mr. President that whoever is found wanton in these killings should be brought to book.
“In my state, I said I will step down as chief security officer because the situation was so tight for me over the killings and incessant attacks on my people.
“We must do something as leaders now;if not, the killers will soon come after us the leaders of the people.
“We encourage you as governor not to lose focus.Plateau state has been enjoying relative peace over the years under your administration, but all of a sudden these killings took place.
The Zamfara governor said the NGF would not relent in ensuring that the security agencies are up and doing.
“We are going to, very soon as we have agreed collectively, have a one-day interface with the security chiefs, to ensure that they understand where we are and how this thing is depleting the relationship between the citizens and as a nation the threat that we are under, as we are under a time bomb as leaders,” he said.
“They (security chiefs) should do their jobs perfectly or else, we have no option than to ask the President to relieve them, that’s the only point.”
The NGF Chairman said Zamfara alone experienced 115 attacks between March 1st and June 1st, 2018, which he said claimed the lives of 435 persons.
He donated an undisclosed amount of money to the state to help alleviate the plight of the injured persons and those displaced.
Also speaking, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State expressed the support of all governors for Lalong at this point in time. “We are with you in this fight, don’t lose focus. What we are lacking in this fight is the unity of purpose.”
Lalong thanked his colleagues for their visit and declared that “no one has any reason to take somebody else’s life.”
He vowed that the perpetrators of the killings will be fished out and be made to face the consequences of their action.
“We will make efforts to fish out the perpetrators of this evil act. We are not going to sleep over this.We pledge not to betray the thrust bestowed on us by the people of Plateau state. I urge you as go to continue praying for us leaders and the state in general.”
Also on the NGF delegation were Governors Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta).
