Stop Wanton Killings, Group Tells Buhari

A body of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria, the Coalition of Civil Societies, Rivers State chapter has called on the government at all levels to stop the killings across all parts of the country.
The group made this call in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, during a national road walk campaign against killings in the country.
The road walk, which started from Rumuola at 8:30am and terminated at Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt by 10.30am, was used to draw public attention to the increasing spate of wanton killings in the state and the country at large.
Addressing newsmen at Isaac Boro Park after the morning walk, the Coordinator, We The People (WTP), Mr Ken Henshaw said that the security agencies in the state, especially the Nigeria Police have failed in their responsibility to protect lives and property, adding that the role and responsibility of any government was to protect lives and property of citizens in the society.
“Therefore, any government that fails to do so has failed in its duty. Nigerians are no longer happy with the present administration in the country”, he lamented.
According to him, the civil society organisations in the country want an end to the killings going on in the country, noting that the killings were increasing on a daily basis.
“In the month of April in Rivers State alone, we documented 46 cases of violent killings and deaths. The government needs to do more for the safety of Nigerians.
“We urge the police to swing into action that would lead to unravelling the possible causes of these killings and ensure the documentation of the deaths in order to know their identities as well as their killers.
Also speaking, Chairman, Rivers State Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Comrade Enefaa Georgewill, urged the security agencies to track the perpetrators of the inhuman acts, and prosecute the killers in accordance with the relevant laws of the country.
He called for the withdrawal of police men and other security personnel attached to politicians and very important persons (VIPs), adding that these security men were meant to protect lives and property, not individuals who do not need them.
“Federal Government should send back the security agencies to the state, local government areas and communities for the protection of lives and property”, he added.
In his speech, a third-year student of University of Port Harcourt, Department of Sociology, Ojukwu Tochukwu said that the security agencies should be able to create a database for all the deaths that occurred in the state during the period under review.
Tochukwu, who is also a pioneer member of Students Watch (STUWAT), appealed to the security agencies to do their best in protecting lives and property of citizens in the society, which he said, was their primary obligation.