44 CSOs ask Buhari to step aside or face impeachment over insecurity

A coalition of  44 civil society organizations, CSOs, have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to step aside or face impeachment by the National Assembly if he can no longer ensure the security and welfare of the Nigerian people.

They made the demand at an emergency civil society joint action press briefing on the state of the nation in Abuja.

They demanded among others that the president “provide political and moral leadership for the security crisis and ensure governmental actions are humane in tandem with Section 17 (2) ( C ) of the Constitution.”

They also charged him to end impunity, abuse of power and sectionalism through his appointments by balancing the need for competence with the federal character principle.”

According to the CSOs, Nigeria has become a catalogue of bloodletting under President Buhari’s watch.

The civil society groups present at the event include the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Centre for Democratic Research and Training (CRDDERT), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project (SERAP), Zero-Corruption Coalition (ZCC), Partners on Electoral Reform, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), National Procurement Watch Platform, Praxis Center, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education (CHRICED), Social Action, Community Action for Popular Participation, Borno Coalition for Democracy and Progress (BOCODEP) and Global Rights.

Read Also: Foodstuffs, Cattle dealers union threaten nationwide strike

Others are Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), Tax Justice and Governance Platform, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, Women In Nigeria, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre(RULAAC), Women Advocate Research And Documentation Centre, Community Life Project, Nigerian Feminist Forum, Alliances for Africa, Spaces for Change, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, BudgiT Foundation, State of the Union (SOTU), Action International Nigeria, Femi Falana Chamber, HEDA Resource Centre, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Organization Community Civic Engagement (OCCEN), Say NO Campaign—Nigeria, Women In Media, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Sesor Empowerment Foundation, House of Justice, Molluma Medico-Legal Center, and Open Bar Initiative.

The groups lamented the Federal Government’s abdication of its responsibility for security,  through the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), who called Nigerian citizens ‘cowards’ and urged them to defend themselves against bandits and other criminals.

They stressed that such a comment was capable of frustrating the war against insurgency and banditry.

Jonah Jang Reading out the text of the briefing on behalf of the coalition, Mr Jaiye Gaskia, of United Action for Democracy, UAD, also proposed advised the federal authorities to seek international cooperation to ramp up Nigeria’s security assets with a view towards addressing Nigeria’s insecurity.