Security agencies urged to probe politicians instigating violence

A group, Concerned Road Travellers of Nigeria, has called on security agencies to clamp down on politicians instigating violence in Kogi State.

The convener of the group, Toyin Raheem, in a release on Friday, said a particular politician in the state, who allegedly defended a suspected terrorist, must be invited for questioning.

He said, “This will give millions of Nigerian road users the assurance that their safety is secure, especially when plying the Lokoja-Abuja road which is largely strategic and unavoidable for many travellers in the country.”

Raheem, who is also a Labour Party House of Assembly candidate in Lagos State in the forthcoming general elections, wondered why politicians would be promoting violence against the people they planned to represent “or seen to be sympathisers of violent criminals or terrorists.”

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“Like I have been emphasising, Kogi State is strategically located between the South and the North and anything that affects its security, affects most Nigerians.

“Therefore, it is unfathomable that any politician for whatever reason(s) would be seen to be directly instigating violence with unfounded inflammatory statements that could be termed hate campaign on national television, in relation to terror suspects in Kogi State or anywhere for that matter.

“How would you expect to make people believe that a terror suspect that was reportedly nabbed by the Department of State Services was picked by the government of the day because he crossed from one political party to the other?

“One wonders what this person’s real interests and intentions are for coming out so strongly in support of someone who has been alleged to be a serious security risk to the society. If Kogi State is allowed to degenerate again into an insecure haven where violence and bloodshed are allowed to reign, that space won’t be safe for millions of Nigerians who pass through there on a daily basis.”

He lamented that some critical Nigerian roads had become kidnapping conundrums, specifically from the South to the North and vice versa.

Raheem said, “Recently there has been an upsurge in kidnapping incidents on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in addition to the punitive traffic on that stretch of road. That is, arguably, the busiest road in Nigeria and we call on the states concerned – Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states – the Federal Government and security agencies to rise to the situation and keep the road safe for commuters.”