The presidential candidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, says the Federal Government lacks thecapacity to address the security challenges confronting the nation.
He said this in a statement by his communication adviser, Phrank Shaibu, on Tuesday while reacting to the latest report by Amnesty International which accused the government of impunity.
The former vice president decried that thousands of people have been either killed or injured, a situation he said has discouraged foreign investors.
“It is now very clear, like Amnesty International said in its report, that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has displayed gross incompetence and has failed in its duty to protect the lives of its population, which has witnessed many preventable deaths and lost many good hands,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
The global human rights organisation had indicated in its report that the herdsmen and farmers crisis has claimed about 3,641 lives in the last three years and 57 per cent of the deaths were recorded in 2018.
In its response, the government said the operations of Amnesty International in the country appeared to be aimed at frustrating the efforts of the military.
Atiku, on his part, described the government’s response as “tepid”.
He then called on Nigerians to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in 2019, as a means of addressing the security challenges.
The PDP candidate said, “After every attack, either by herdsmen or by kidnappers, the government will vow to get the culprits and punish them. Then more deaths will occur, and the government will repeat its vow.”
“This is not reassuring to the people of Nigeria as well as foreigners who may want to do business in the country. Therefore, it is now clear that, in spite of its best efforts, the Buhari and his party, the APC cannot stop the herdsmen and other criminal elements currently terrorising the country,” he alleged.
Atiku further accused the present administration of “not doing anything” even in the face of a purported report which condemned the rate of under-age deaths in the country.
According to him, the herdsmen-farmers crisis has recently been concentrated in some parts of the country and can lead to ethno-religious conflicts there.
The former vice president, however, assured Nigerians that he would apply proven and tested strategies to insecurity if voted into office.
He also vowed to pursue quality collaborative measures with local and international partners in a bid to completely wipe out insurgency from the country.
Atiku hinted at his policy document which he said has a detailed plan on how to ensure the security of lives and property as well as promote businesses, improved power generation, transmission and distribution, among others.
