CDHR Urges Federal Government To Address Insecurity

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has asked the Federal Government to intensify the fight against insecurity to address the high cost of living in the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, the National President of CDHR, Debo Adeniran, said Nigerians are under torment by the astronomical rise in the prices of basic foods in the marketplace.

He said this surge is reflected mainly in the prices of garri, millet, yam, fermented cassava meal (akpu), palm oil, vegetable oil, beef, rice, and beans.

According to Adeniran, the high cost of these foodstuffs is alarming primarily because these food items are staples in most homes across the land. The absence of these items would contribute seriously to hunger and malnutrition in the country.

He said: “This gives room for a huge concern as the steep prices have battered the purchasing power of citizens, leading to uncertainty, an increase in poverty, and an unpalatable cost of living. The disruption caused by rising food inflation has further decimated the people’s low wages.

“A 2022 survey by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty. How on earth will the people who fall into this group be able to afford these staples which have skyrocketed beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians?

“Incessant killings, kidnappings, and destruction of farmland have led to farmers abandoning their farmland for fear of bandits and herdsmen, thereby contributing to food shortages across the country.

“The situation is rampant in Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Katsina, and Borno, where violence plagues the states often regarded as Nigeria’s food belt. In Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, and other states, bandits and terrorists hold sway, collecting levies or tributes from farmers before they can plant or harvest their crops.

“So, insecurity has contributed greatly to the high cost of food in the country. The government should make it a priority to secure the lives and properties of the entire citizens of the country and not only the farmers as this would contribute immensely to greater output and more investment opportunities in the economy of the country.

“As a temporary measure, the government at every level should undertake tangible programmes to defeat hunger in the land and the introduction of various social safety measures at a time like this would be a welcome development.

“A few days ago, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, announced the interception of a 40-foot container laden with arms and ammunition imported into the country from Turkey. Speaking in Onne, Rivers State, the CG, said the 40-footer container with number, MAEU165396, contained pump action rifles and ammunition worth N4.17 billion.

“He stated that, based on the number of risk factors associated with the importation, it became a subject of interest for the Customs Service and that led to a thorough examination of the container which revealed that the container contained 844 units of rifles and 112,500 pieces of live ammunition. The arms and ammunition were said to have been skillfully concealed within items such as doors, furniture, plumbing fittings and leather bags.

“We would like to commend the Nigeria Customs Service for this remarkable feat, and we urge them to continue to be more diligent and vigilant as they carry out their duties.

“We have also heard that the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons has said the large cache of arms and ammunition intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Service would be destroyed after documentation has been completed.

“The centre also confirmed that the customs had handed over the weapons to it. We think that the arms and ammunition should not be destroyed but given to vigilante groups and or civilian Joint Task Force (JTFs) around the country after they have been properly trained on how to use the arms.”