…Condemns act, seeks whole-of-society cooperation against insecurity

By Dapo Akinrefon

The lawmaker representing for Zamfara West Senatorial district, Senator Abdul-Aziz Abubakar Yari, has told the people of Benue State and Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu does not make empty threats just as he expresses confidence that he would go after those behind the recent killings in Yelewata, Benue, and bring them to book.

Senator Yari, who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Water Resources, while condemning what he described as “gruesome murder of the innocent and harmless” also sought what he identified as “the whole-of-society” approach to combating insecurity.

Addressing the Benue massacre, the lawmaker said the president has not only shown responsible and responsive leadership by identifying with the people of Benue and also visiting the state, the Wednesday “on-the-spot actions” that he took were marks of a hands-on leader.”

The former governor of Zamfara State said: “The president is capable of containing the situation and even if it means adopting totally extreme strategies to give every part of the nation peace, he would do it, because he was elected to secure the nation and the people and this much he understands.

“His (Tinubu’s) decision to suspend everything he was doing and to also keep others on hold are worthy of note. If we understood the responsibilities associated with the office of the president, we would see the empathy in his decision to personally visit Benue.

“He could have delegated a high-powered team to visit and stand in for him while he’d go on with his other commitments. But he decided to show leadership and identify with the people, who showed him love through their votes and also believed in his person and leadership.

“I can assure the people of Benue and Nigeria in general that those behind this dastardly act will not get away with their mindlessness. Those in charge of security also know the implication of not living up to billing, so no one is kidding here.

“The criminals will be apprehended sooner than we all can ever imagine. The president doesn’t issue an empty threat. He meant what he said and said what he meant. They will not get away with this, and whatever their motive was, we will also unravel soon. But, ultimately, this madness has to stop, and it will stop.”

Yari, however, appealed to the people to also see the security of the society as their business and responsibility.

“Together, we can all confront this menace and decimate it. We need the whole-of-society approach to be able to defeat this monster and common enemy. This is the time we all must put on our intelligence garb.

“Everybody – every citizen – must become an intelligence officer for the sake of the sanity of the society. We all must pay attention to happenings around us and give timely and pivotal information to relevant authorities to be able to nip the menace in good time”, he said.