Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that those involved in the Southern Kaduna killings will be made to face the law.
The vice president said this on Thursday during a Special Conversation featuring him and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, at the ongoing Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Virtual 2020 Annual General Conference.
He said, “I have been involved since 2001 through the work of the Macedonian initiative, an NGO that focused on providing relief materials to displaced persons in Southern Kaduna and several other places especially in North Central part of Nigeria.
“There have been judicial commissions and all sorts, but the problem remains; so, there is the need to address the underlying issues. You can’t sweep under the carpet, justice and the cries of economic marginalization.
“The fact is that we must prosecute persons responsible for these murders or otherwise impunity will worsen. And also support those who have lost their bread winners.
“The mindless callous killings in Southern Kaduna are heartbreaking; and again, we must condole with those who have lost loved ones and those injured or who have suffered loss of property; these tragedies are unacceptable and they are avoidable.”
According to Osinbajo, for the impunity not to be heightened there’s a need to ensure justice, fix economic marginalization and the prosecution of persons responsible for the murders.
He however said that Southern Kaduna is experiencing a level of improvement in security due to the military base that was set up there for the first time.
He said there was also a lot of air surveillance by the Nigerian Air Force.
He said “We have about 500 conventional and mobile policemen in Zangon Kataf and Kaura Local Government Areas and then the combined military team of the army and the navy who are also on ground 24 hours.
“This is basically to just take care of the volatile situation there.”
Osinbajo said that President Muhammadu Buhari had also had several Security Council meetings all of which he attended; where the issues were discussed and the possibilities of engagement had been discussed.
The vice president also urged those who had concerns about the recently signed Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 legislation to approach the National Assembly for possible amendments as Nigeria was in a democracy.
“We have a process by which this can be readdressed.
“Whatever the proposal for amendment may be, whatever the view of the leadership of the church may be regarding the question of how the trustees, whether they are interim trustees or not, can be put into a proposal that will be brought to the National Assembly for consideration for amendment to the law.
“That is the process which is entirely opened and ought to be pursued.
“We are in a democracy and there is a process by which things can be done and that process is the one where you bring forward amendments to the National Assembly and they will do whatever is considered useful in the circumstance,” he said.
