A coalition of civil society organizations, public interest and self determination groups, the Coalition for Good Governance (CGG), has condemned in strong terms, the senseless, barbaric and provocative killing of 16 Nigerians in Uromi, Edo State.
According to a press statement issued in Lagos and signed by the convener and co-convener of the coalition Nelson Ekujumi and Gbenga Soloki, the coalition stated that “We are pained, saddened, traumatized, outraged and condemn in the strongest terms the act of barbarism unleashed on the psyche of Nigerians by the gruesome killing of 16 Nigerians by some persons in Uromi, Edo State under the pretext that the victims were suspected kidnappers.
The group asserted that ‘We make bold to state that nobody or group have a right to terminate the life of any Nigerian extrajudicially no matter the justification, according to our laws, the right to prosecute any suspected violator(s), is the responsibility of the security agencies in the courts”. “Therefore, we are shocked and dumbfounded like people of good conscience all over the world by this senseless and unGodly act which is not representative of the values and culture of us as Nigerians and Africans”.
According to the coalition, “As we mourn and are angry over this unfortunate, reckless and provocative act of barbarism, we must not lose sight of the lessons from this assault on our humanity and constitution, chief among of which is the ethnic and religious profiling of crime most especially by the media, the absence of elders to rein in and mentor the youths as well as the exposed lacuna in police intelligence in our communities and country”.
The coalition then called for a wholistic rethink of our values and consciousness as a people with regards to ethnic and religious profiling of crime which is a crime against God and man, with an appeal to the media to be professional and responsible in the discharge of it’s functions, just as it charged the police authorities to rejig it’s intelligence architecture to be able to uncover threats before it snowballs into a greater danger to national security and peaceful coexistence.
The Coalition for Good Governance however commended President Bola Tinubu for his timely responsiveness as a leader in giving marching orders to the security agencies to apprehend, investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of this crime against humanity which has resulted in some arrests, while investigation is still ongoing.
The group also applauded the Governor of Edo State Mr. Monday Okpebholo for his swift proactiveness and responsible leadership in reaching out to the people and government of the state of the victims with an assurance to pay compensation and ensure justice is served to the memory of the murdered victims and the society at large.
The coalition demanded a thorough probe of the Uromi 16 act of barbarism and the prosecution of all the perpetrators in order to send a clear message to all that this country will not condone any act of extrajudicial killings no matter the circumstances or justification.
The group condoled with the families of the murdered victims, just as it prayed Allah to grant them eternal rest.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
