Minority Reps task Tinubu on banditry in North, seek el-Rufai’s release

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take urgent and decisive action to end the wave of terrorism and banditry across northern Nigeria.

The Caucus, in a statement on Friday over growing attacks on communities, said the scale of killings, kidnappings, and displacement had become intolerable.

It, therefore, urged the president to deploy a sustained and coordinated security operation to reclaim territories controlled by terrorists and criminal gangs.

The statement jointly signed by the Minority Leader, Fredrick Agbedi, and the Caucus’ spokesperson, Afam Victor Ogene, cited recent attacks in several northern states, including Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kaduna, and Katsina.

The lawmakers urged President Tinubu to replicate, on a larger scale, the strategy which led to the rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire local government area of Oyo state.

It also argued that the continued detention of former Kaduna state governor, Nasir el-Rufai “has increasingly assumed the character of a political persecution,” and demanded his release.

“Our concern is not merely about one individual. It is about the credibility and consistency of the federal government’s anti-corruption campaign,” it stated.