Ezekwesili Marches to Aso Villa, Accuses Buhari of Bias in Plateau Massacre ...Nationwide protest to hold July 4

 

Former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of implicit complicity with terrorist herdsmen in the Plateau State conflict, where scores of people, including women and children, were massacred last weekend.

Ezekwesili made the accusation on Tuesday when she embarked on a one- man march to the Presidential Villa to demand an end to the gruesome bloodletting in some parts of North Central region.

The ex-minister’s letter addressed to the president was titled: ‘Time to act-enough is totally and truly now enough!’ contains 18 demands to the president.

The former Vice President of the World Bank accused Buhari of bias in the killings in Plateau State and for making statement that endorsed the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association's justification of the killings as a mere retaliatory act for lost cows.

"Your bias in handling the killings and abductions of certain segment of Nigerians is all too obvious and unbecoming of a leader of diverse country like Nigeria. All Nigerian lives matter. Stop your cold and visible lack of empathy towards a segment of your citizens who are daily killed with impunity. Stop the seeming troubling endorsement by your administration of the repugnant admission by an organisation that kills human beings who are your citizens for their own lost cows," Ezekwesili said.

She also asked the president to sanction the Inspector General of Police (IG) if the latter fails to arrest the patrons of the cattle breeders association, who allegedly made the retaliatory statement and their members, who were assigned to execute the so-called ‘retaliatory attacks’.

Ezekwesili commenced the walk at about 12: 15 noon from Eagle Square, with a handful of sympathisers, including Aisha Yesufu, the Co-Convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group.

Tempers, however, flared when the procession which branched off Shehu Shagari road towards the Presidential Villa was stopped by uniformed and plain clothed security men along Circular road.

Journalists following the procession were turned back. Also, anti-riot policemen seized the banner held by Ezekwesili while there was bitter verbal confrontation between Yesufu and some security men after her phone was confiscated.

After the de-escalation of the row, the crumbled banner, with varying messages like ‘End the blood flow,’ ‘End the killings’ and ‘Where are the killers’, was returned to Ezekwesili.

She subsequently read her letter containing her demands addressed to the president and dropped it to be delivered at Army sentry inside the Villa.

Ezekwesili expressed dismay at the state of security in the country, and described as an aberration and abnormality a situation where government "is showing no fierce sense of urgency" after the killing of about 200 people in some Plateau State communities.

She called on Buhari to stop the killings across the country, by enforcing the provisions of Section 14 subsection 2b of the Nigerian Constitution (As amended) which states that “the welfare and security of the citizens shall be the primary purpose of the government."

She said: "I am addressing my message to you as the President and commander of the chief of the armed forces of Nigeria. I am addressing my demands to you as one individual bestowed with the powers of centralised command and control of our security institutions and personnel. Hence, stop the daily killing of Nigerians by terrorist-herdsmen now! Nigeria must not be changed into a vast killing field under your watch, Mr. President.”

The former minister also appealed to the president to end the loyalty of the service chiefs and other head of state security to him, saying it was in abuse of office and a breach of the oath he swore to place the country above personal interest.

Before laying the banner, Ezekwesili said Nigerian citizens will on July 4 stage a large scale protest over the Plateau killings.

She said the protest which will begin at Unity Foundation will march to the Presidential Villa when the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting will be in progress.