APC condemns Boko Haram killings

The All Progressives Congress on Wednesday condemned the spate of mass killings by Boko Haram in the country’s North-East region.



APC described the insurgents as cowards for targeting unarmed civilians, especially women and children.

In a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party insisted that “senseless” killing of innocent civilians could not be justified.

The party expressed its condolences to the government and people of the affected states, especially Borno, which it said had borne the brunt of the attacks.

The APC said while the Nigerian military had undoubtedly recorded some successes in its battle against the terrorists, it was time for it to rev up its strategy for preventing the mass killings being perpetrated by the insurgents in recent times.

The party urged the military to increase its intelligence gathering capability to nip in the bud the attacks on civilians and other targets, including army barracks and police stations.

The statement partly reads, “However, we make bold to say that successful intelligence gathering cannot be possible if the stakeholders are not carried along; when soldiers have not taken the pains to win the hearts and minds of the local communities and where decision making on key and pressing problems centres around Abuja.

“The delay in acceding to requests from troops on the field concerning logistical challenges due to unnecessary bottlenecks at the level of the political authorities, is exploited by Boko Haram to carry out daring and deadly attacks not just on civilians but on the military itself.

“Therefore, it is absolutely important to provide the brave and patriotic personnel we have sent to the battle against the insurgents with everything they need to prosecute a successful battle. We must also ensure that we are not just fighting to win the battle, but to also win the peace.”

Meanwhile, the Coalition of Nigerian Youths for Goodluck Jonathan has said youths in the north-eastern states of the country, which it said was under the siege of Boko Haram attacks, should “stand firm and resist the attempts by Boko Haram to totally destroy the region.”