The sultan has condemned the incessant killings by Boko Haram insurgents and bandits across the country.
The sultan, who is the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, also blamed the spate of killings, kidnappings, and banditry on governments’ inability to stop the carnage.
However, on the day the sultan made his intervention, the federal government intensified efforts to address the security siege by criminal cartels as the NSA led other top security chiefs to Katsina State to find lasting solutions to the deteriorating security challenges bedeviling the state and North-west in general.
The visit came a day after protesters marched on the streets of Katsina, the state capital, over the worsening insecurity in the state.
The police, yesterday, however, arrested the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Mr. Nastura Sharif, in connection with the protests in Katsina.
The sultan, in a statement yesterday, urged both the federal and state governments to wake up to their responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians as enshrined in the constitution.
The sultan, in the statement by the Secretary General of the JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar-Aliyu, released to journalists in Kaduna, also enjoined Muslims to pray for God’s intervention to stop the unending killings and other related matters in the country.
He condemned the rising menace of rape across the country and called on the government to protect the female folks against gender-based violence.
The statement said: “The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), under the leadership of His Eminence, Alhaji (Dr.) Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and JNI’s President-General, is in utter shockwave over the unfortunate repeated incidences of loss of precious lives and wanton destruction of property arising from well-coordinated attacks of armed bandits, Boko Haram terrorist groups and rapists.
“These repeated calamitous scenarios would have been avoided had the government risen to the occasion, we nonetheless as always condemn the repeated brutal acts in their entirety; especially the lackadaisical attitude of relevant security agencies that seemed to be overwhelmed, despite repeated calls by concerned and well-meaning Nigerians for decisive action.
“We implore the government to take all genuine calls, concerns so raised and recommendations proffered so far, even from perceived and/or alleged antagonists in good fate, in order to move the country on the path of glory – human security, as development in whatever guise, is utterly incomplete without security.”
On rape, the JNI stressed the need for government’s swift intervention through legislation so as to facilitate the trial of suspects.