By Seyi Odewale
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly condemned the massacre of worshippers and villagers in Malumfashi, Katsina State, while demanding that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cut short his foreign trips and return home to confront the worsening insecurity.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the killings as part of a relentless wave of terror sweeping Katsina and Zamfara, which has claimed more than 140 lives in the last two months. The ADC insisted that the situation warranted the immediate declaration of a State of Emergency in both states.
The party recounted the horror in Malumfashi, where gunmen stormed a mosque at dawn, killing 30 worshippers, while 20 others were burned alive in their homes.
It also noted the spate of attacks in Zamfara, where at least 47 people were slaughtered recently, including 38 hostages murdered even after ransom was paid.
Another 45 Nigerians have been killed this month alone in the state, with villages destroyed and dozens abducted.
“This evil act epitomises the horror Nigerians have been forced to endure under this administration,” the statement said, accusing the government of presiding over “a total collapse of the national security architecture.”
The ADC also referenced recent remarks by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who advised citizens to take up self-defence skills, as proof that the security system had failed.
The party criticised President Tinubu for “jet-setting across the world”. At the same time, Nigerians are killed in dozens at home, describing his silence over the tragedy as a grave act of negligence.
“Diplomacy abroad is meaningless if safety and security at home cannot be guaranteed,” it stated, adding that the President had not even directly consoled bereaved families or reassured survivors.
The ADC also berated the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors for holding a political meeting in Zamfara just days after mass killings in the state.
The party said photographs of PDP governors “grinning in ceremonial robes” at a time when communities were still mourning amounted to an insult to the victims.
“It is clear that neither the ruling APC nor the PDP cares about the suffering of the people. What matters to them is power and politics, not human lives,” the ADC declared.
The party reiterated its demand for a wholesale re-evaluation of the nation’s security architecture, warning that unless urgent steps were taken, Nigeria risked sliding further into lawlessness and mass bloodshed.
