The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), in a press statement jointly signed by its National President, Dr Usman Oladipo Akanbi through the General Secretary, Dame Joan Oji, has condemned the recent heinous murder in Uromi, Edo State. While observing the alarming level of insecurity across the country where many lives have been lost to ritual killings, banditry, and premeditated murder, often perpetuated by religious and ethnic tensions, the ANA leadership has also noted that more disturbing is the growing trend of jungle justice, where aggrieved individuals and communities take the law into their own hands.
It will be recalled that the recent Ilobu/Ifon carnage in Osun State and the gruesome murder of Hausa hunters who were mistaken for kidnappers by their killers in Uromi, Edo State have escalated tensions nationwide, particularly in the Hausa-Fulani dominated northern areas of the country.
According to the information received by 360vibezMedia, ANA leadership Described this spate of killings as sheer brutality and deeply unsettling, the ANA leaders in their statement have knocked the Nigerian security forces noting that though the agents are making observable efforts, their endeavours seem inadequate in face of the relentless bloodletting witnessed across the country lately.
The statement further read that ANA unequivocally condemns these barbaric acts and therefore has called on the federal government to conduct a thorough investigation into these incidents, ensure justice is served, and implement measures to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
According to the statement, ANA advocates for a comprehensive national reorientation programme, aimed at promoting a cultural rebirth, thereby curbing the rising tide of cultism, ritual killings, advanced fee fraud, corruption, ethnic jingoism, religious bigotry, and other antisocial crimes.
“Our Association strongly condemns the Uromi killings and other similar incidents now on the rise across the nation. While calling on the government, we also enjoin Nigerians to exercise restraint and co-operate with law enforcement agencies at all times,“ the statement concludes.
