By Abdulmumin Murtala – Kano
The Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, has announced intention to resume protest on Saturday following a brief suspension after the protesters were attacked by hoodlums on Thursday.
The CNG also accused the state government and the secret police of organizing the attack on the protesters last Thursday.
The National leader of the group Balarabe Rufai made the declaration in a press conference in Kano on Friday.
The group made some observations saying “That the targeting of Kano State and singling it out for attacks on EndInsecurityNow protesters is part of a mega clandestine plot by the Kano government and the nation’s secret security service aimed at provoking retaliation from the CNG possibly leading to general unrest with subsequent attacks to be perpetrated in other northern states.”
The group also accused the northern political elites of abandoning their people who are faced with terrible insecurity plight.
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“That whereas the northern political elites have all along remained silent while abandoning their people for slaughter by murderous insurgents and vicious bandits, their counterparts in the south have remained forthcoming with support for their people even on flimsiest of demands like trimming of the unit of an organ of the security structure.
“That the politicians behind the attacks who obviously benefit one way or another by the bleeding in the North are apparently not happy that the CNG has so far remained the single most reliable consistent voice against the ongoing slaughter of and general neglect of northern Nigerians.”
The group, therefore, resolved to hold the Kano State government and the leadership of the nation’s secret security service responsible for the attacks and every ensuing injury to persons and property. The group plans “to unequivocally repudiate all attempts to suppress the Northerner’s inalienable right to freedom of association and expression as guaranteed by Nigerian laws and several international treaties and conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“To catalogue a list of casualties and levels of casualty for processing of an immediate claim for compensations and further legal actions as may be necessary.”
In a related development, the National Youth Council of Nigeria NYCN and Kannywood Artist/Celebrities have called against unnecessary heating of the polity through the continued protests even after the Special Anti Robbery Squares SARS has been scrapped as demanded.
Speaking on behalf of the groups at a press conference in Kano on Friday, the Deputy President NYCN Abubakar Muhammad General said “unnecessary overheating the polity thereby turning the peaceful processions to violence, lopsidedness against ethnicity or regional sentiments, religious bigotry or even regrettable circumstances as Lybia, Syria and Egypt.
He further warned, “as usual, some detractors might also take advantage of the situation, if the protest is allowed to be too long, in attacking people, their shops and others.
Finally, they drew the attention of the Federal Ministry of Works to review Abuja-Kano road construction with a view to fast track the work in order to ease kidnapping, armed robbery cases and other criminal activities along the road. They also called on the Inspector-General of Police, IGP to beef up security arrangement to deploy heavy security personnel comprising a team of a joint task force in at least every ten kilometres of the road.
Vanguard
