On Gun And Its Licence

By Dr. Bolaji Akinyemi

Now That Police And Military will bear arms, what is the fate of victims of attacks who have always find refuge in the nearest formation of Civil Defence, Customs, immigration and prison service?

What offence was committed by these services for which this executive withdrawal of what was given to them by an act of the parliament?

The prison service has no resistance at defending jail break; a regular operations carried out by fundamentalists to free their own.

Chief Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, I don’t know anyone who should  know the implications of this decision better than you. May I remind you of your time in Bauchi, you have left me in Bauchi for the weekend in the morning on a Friday, you had barely arrived Abuja when the regular religious madness associated with some Fridays broke out, in minutes your Zone has become refuge camp. Sir, there are sacrifices I have seen you made for humanity for which you have my respect for life.

There was no flight back to Jos, so you made it back to Bauchi by road and arrived very late in the night, straight to Zone D, where you were the ACG of the Custom, to ensure security, your officers armed to protect the refugees. You made provision for food and sleeping materials.  When I asked you why you have to risk your life back in the manner you did. You said “I know what this people are capable of doing, moreover my presence will provide the succor needed for the hour”.

Distinguished Senator, the succor  will no longer be provided, by patriotic officers like yourself, not for lack of courage, but because time has changed. Their right to bear arms has been withdrawn.

Can you imagine a formation that night without arms and ammunition to provide the security you drove 5 hours back, to give.

Would you have dare what you did under the circumstances of today?

Sir, the implications of Muhammadu Buhari’s executive order from the 1st day of June is that, if such crisis as witnessed is to occur, the victims will be pursued into camps and officers overrun like the victims where they do not share the religious sentiment of the attackers.

Will you allow this executive recklessness to go unchallenged?

We look up to men of courage like yourself in the 9th Assembly to stand in defence of the masses.