The Unified Nigerian Youth Forum has criticised the killing of Mr Ahmed Gulak, an APC chieftain, and urged those aggrieved to remain calm as justice had been meted out to the perpetrators.
Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed, President of the forum, made the condemnation in a statement issued on Tuesday in Kaduna.
Mohammed said that the killings of Gulak in Owerri and Justice Stanley Nnaji In Enugu state respectively were cawardly and uncalled for noting that they inflicted great losses to the nation.
According to him, conflict entrepreneurs and some forces were trying to trigger inter-ethnic conflicts in the regions which can result to unrest and cripple the progress of the nation.
“Evil plans to cause unrest and chaos in Nigeria will never see the light of the day; the government is trying to manage the already existing war against banditry, kidnapping and other forms of insecurity in Northern region,” he said.
Mohammed noted that the federal government had for years been fighting terrorism in North East at great cost to the nation.
He said that the battle had alone been allotted significant percentage of its budget annually at the expenses of Education, health, human capital development, infrastructure, research and development.
He called for caution in the reactions from certain quarters on criminal activities in different parts of the country which tended to undermine the efforts by public officers and the security personnel to do their work.
He specifically expressed displeasure with the alleged ultimatum given to the governor of Imo on the sad incident in his state by the leadership of Northern Youth Council of Nigerian and National Youth Council Of Nigeria (North East branch).
“The ultimatum is uncalled for; the statement issued by the Imo state Police Command on the current happenings within the state and apprehension of perpetrators of the murder of Gulak within a very short period of time is commendable.
“Elites in the North have also been killed in the North including traditional leaders and retired army generals by bandits; IPOB killed a former Judge in Enugu state less than 40 hours ago and the Southerners have their own similar experience too.
“I’m not in any way justifing the ugly incident but we most promote national unity at any rate as concerned citizens and as stakeholders.
“Our duty as civil society groups is to ensure we avert ethnic clash now.
“In Nigerian today, we are not only saddled with agitations but escalating and dangerous violent crimes accros the country.
“Criminals now take a position behind ethnic and religious justification to avoid a date with the law.
“The narration of hatred, violence, dismemberment have taken over our nation and threatening our national unity and collective patrimony.
“We have never been so divisive, hate-laced as currently seen today.
“In light of recent happenings, we are calling on the Nigerian youth to remain calm, law abiding and vigilant.
“We should ensure putting away personal, religious and tribal sentiments for the benefit of our country.
Let’s fight collectively, together, in other to rescue our country for us and our unborn children,” Mohammed said. (NAN)
