Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, has challenged the All Progressives Congress, APC, to disclosed the name of the northwest governor it claimed is behind acts of escalating banditry in the zone.
The APC on Thursday alleged, in a statement by its acting spokesperson, Yekini Nabena, that a serving northwest governor, whose name it did not mention, was behind the rising cases of banditry in the region.
However, Tambuwal in a statement he personally signed and made made available to ASHENEWS Friday morning, said failure to mention the alleged governor’s name, the security agencies should invite him to disclose such.
According to the governor, since all governors swore to protect the lives and property of the citizenry in his area of jurisdiction, APC’s alleging is a “skewed logic intended to upturn the rule of law and the jurisdictional dictates of equity and good conscience.”
He therefore said, the onus of proof of his allegation rests on Mr Nabena, who should name and provide evidence that the alleged governor was sponsoring banditry in the region.
“He (Nabena) should name the Governor he is alluding to as the sponsor of banditry and sundry crimes in the North-West and provide evidence that he (the Governor) is involved in all of that which he alleged,” Tambuwal further stated.
Read the statement below:
“My attention has been drawn to a statement by the APC acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yekini Nabena titled: ‘One North-West Governor Behind Banditry, Killings.’
“In the statement widely circulated in the media– conventional and social, Mr Nabena challenged “security agencies to investigate an intelligence report linking” an unnamed governor to the increasing wave of banditry, abductions and other violent crimes in the zone.
“There is nothing further from the truth than this. Beyond politics, no governor anywhere in the country assumed office without swearing to an oath, as prescribed by the Constitution, to protect the lives and property of the citizenry in his area of jurisdiction.
“To allude and allege that a Governor is consciously undermining the oath of office he took is a skewed logic intended to upturn the rule of law and the jurisdictional dictates of equity and good conscience.
“For this reason, the onus of proof of his allegation rests on Mr Nabena. He should name the Governor he is alluding to as the sponsor of banditry and sundry crimes in the North-West and provide evidence that he (the Governor) is involved in all of that which he alleged.
“Otherwise, the security agencies in the country should invite Mr Nabena to provide evidence of his allegation, assist them in investigating the matter and make sure that justice is done.
“My advise, therefore, is that all well-meaning Nigerians and political stakeholders should consider human lives first instead of playing to the gallery. The framers of the Constitution know why they bestowed much powers, although significantly flawed, in the President to checkmate issues such as those raised by Mr Nabena.
“Playing blame games is not a panacea to the security problem at hand. None of us should play politics with security matters. We should also not play politics with the lives of those we swore to protect. Instead, all hands must be on deck to ensure the collective security of the North and the country in general,” Tambuwal stated.
