The Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation has condemned the killing of 43 rice farmers in Borno, saying that the Federal Government should ensure the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
The Managing Director of the foundation, Abubakar Umar, stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.
Umar, who expressed regretted over the slaughtering of innocent citizens working on their farms, called on the government to ensure that the killers were made to face the full wrath of the law.
“Every effort must be made to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended and served their due measure of justice,” it said.
Aside the massacre of the farmers, the foundation also decried killings in other areas in the Northern part of the country, saying these had exposed the security lapses in the country.
It urged security agencies to beef up surveillance to prevent a recurrence of the ugly incidents.
The foundation frowned at what it called the continued shedding of the blood of innocent citizens by criminal elements in the country.
According to the foundation, the insecurity situation has been responsible for the stagnation of commercial activities and stifling of economic stability and growth in most part of the North.
It appealed to the Federal Government to channel its efforts towards securing the lives and property of the citizens.
The foundation also called for the strengthening of security agencies to effectively handle the security challenges currently confronting the country.
“All the resources, including intelligence, funding, logistics, modern weaponry and commensurate motivation, should be channelled into the fight against terrorism in the country.
“With insecurity looming large in largely agrarian part of the country like the North, we need to do everything to defeat the terrorists and restore peace in Nigeria,” it said.
The foundation offered its heartfelt condolences to the families of the farmers killed during the attack. (NAN)
