The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has accused Northern leaders and governors of playing politics with insecurity, warning that their failure to confront banditry is actively crippling security efforts across the rest of Nigeria. In a scathing press statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, the group claimed that powerful individuals in the North are deliberately shielding criminals. Afenifere specifically questioned the Katsina State Government`s recent declaration that the late General Rabe Abubakar died of natural causes. According to Ajayi, by ruling out foul play in such high-profile deaths, Northern authorities are handing dangerous bandits an alibi to continue their reign of terror without fear of consequences. The pan-Yoruba group stated that this lack of political will in the North has direct, severe consequences for the southern region. Afenifere noted that security chiefs have already confirmed that the spike in terrorism and violent crimes across the Southwest is being driven by elements migrating from the North. This unchecked influx, the group argued, has turned the policing of Yorubaland into a herculean task. Expressing deep anxiety over the breakdown of law and order, Ajayi pointed to a recent disclosure by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who revealed that bandits responsible for kidnapping local school children and teachers are currently entrenched in a massive forest reserve spanning ten local government areas. Afenifere lamented that these persistent mass abductions in Oyo and Borno states have cast a dark shadow over the nation’s celebration of 27 years of uninterrupted democratic rule. To halt the slide into complete anarchy, Afenifere called for immediate, aggressive military action against both the perpetrators of these crimes and their high-profile financial sponsors, regardless of their status. The organization concluded with a strong appeal to Southwest governors to form a united security front to fortify the region, while simultaneously mounting pressure on the Federal Government to adopt a more decisive strategy to crush banditry nationwide.
