Northern groups demand sacking of National Security Adviser, Monguno, over onsecurity, threaten massive protests

A coalition of Northern youth groups under the aegis of Northern Ethnic Group Assembly (NEYGA) has asked the Nigerian government to stop the massive killing of people and raiding of communities in the North by bandits and Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

Spokesperson for the umbrella body, Mr Ibrahim Dan-Musa, said the call had become necessary over the worsening state of insecurity in the North.

He decried the unending killings in the North while calling on the Northern elite to speak out.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna, the group decried the deplorable security situation in the North and demanded the immediate removal of the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd).

It lamented the inability of people from Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna and other parts of the country to access the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) due to incessant kidnappings by the bandits on highways.

The coalition called on President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle insecurity and stop the maiming and destruction of lives and property respectively.

The group, in its statement, gave a 14-day ultimatum to the Nigerian government to stop killings in the North, warning that it would be left with no option but to mobilise citizens for protests until the government is shut down.

The group lamented that five years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the security situation has continued to escalate, leading to massive killings and destructions.

Dan-Musa also noted that with the removal of service chiefs and changes in the police hierarchy, the only office that needs to be rejigged now is the NSA office under retired Major General Monguno.

It said Buhari had failed Nigerians who gave him massive support, believing that as a retired military General, he could tackle the security challenges bedevilling the country.

“It is on a sad note that this coalition wishes to remind the federal government and government at all levels, that the primary responsibility of government anywhere, particularly the one that was democratically elected by voters, is to protect the lives and property of citizens.

“Alas, five years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, instead of reducing insecurity, it has escalated, thereby exposing great numbers of our people to avoidable deaths and loss of property in a manner that history has never witnessed before.

“As patriotic citizens, it is our constitutional duty to raise voices and call attention to the killings that are taking place across the states of the Northern region on a daily basis and mobilise citizens on how to constructively engage government at all levels and make demands to end the killings.

“The group is saying enough is enough and an end must be put to the mindless killing of our people particularly in the villages, and the non-challant attitude displayed by government and its agencies to the plights of people going through horrific experience in the hands of criminals that seemed to have overwhelmed our security agencies,” it stated.

Calling on the President to relieve the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Monguno [retd] of his appointment immediately, NEYGA said, “We restate unequivocally that Monguno has failed to provide useful advice to address the scourging insecurity in the country and therefore does not deserve continuous stay in office.

“As a pro-Northern group, we have found it very important to call on President Buhari to remove the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), whose office and responsibilities are critical to the achievement of comprehensive security all over the country but hasn’t used the high esteem of his office in any productive ways since his appointment as NSA.

“The reason for this call is not farfetched. We believe that Maj. Gen. Monguno was part of the gross failure associated with the tenure of the former security chiefs and his continued presence in office will make the success Buhari intended to achieve with the changes very difficult, if not completely impossible.”