The invasion of the Kaduna International Airport by bandits on Saturday, according to the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization Afenifere, was an indication of how bad the country’s security situation had become.
National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Jare Ajayi, in a statement on Sunday stated that what happened in Kaduna on the very day the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was having its national convention in Abuja “was a warning that some people seem to be bent on re-enacting the Afghanistan situation in Nigeria.”
However, a security staff of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) was killed in the attack.
Afenifere lamented that several security infractions happened within a space of 48 hours in Nigeria, saying the worsening insecurity calls for serious concern by well-meaning Nigerians.
It regretted that it was as though the country is at war – at least in those areas where the unfortunate incidents are occurring.
Among the security infractions listed by Afenifere’s spokesman were the communities sacked in Kaduna, Niger and Enugu States leading to the loss of lives and the burning down of properties as well as the rustling of people’s possessions forcefully.
The organisation then called on “all those who believe in freedom, peaceful co-existence, personal liberty, true knowledge and progress to rise up with a view to ensuring that those who should act do so immediately.
“It is a matter of serious concern that these security infractions happened at a time that the government kept assuring us that it was on top of the situation.
“Some of these attacks by terrorists even occurred in broad daylight, that of Kaduna airport and that of Enugu for instance.”
Afenifere noted that, with terrorists having the audacity to attack a national airport despite all the available security apparatus, nowhere is safe any longer in the country.
It tasked the federal government to immediately allow states to set up their own police forces, empower the existing security agencies and stop treating terrorists with kid gloves.
“These must be done immediately so that Nigeria does not go the Afghanistan way,” it warned.
Meanwhile, as tongues wag over the attack on the airport, an aviation security expert, Group Capt. John Ojikutu, rtd, decried the attack, saying authorities should have seen it coming after the invasion of the airport staff quarters last year and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
He said, “The airport staff quarters and closeby NDA were invaded a few months ago; what action has the responsible authorities taken after the invasions?
“What intelligence estimates or assessments have been taken from the various banditry attacks within Kaduna State and the capital environment? Which agency is watching over the airport and others outside Kaduna which include Abuja and Lagos?”