A Niger Delta youths group, under the aegis of Niger Delta Youth Congress, NDYC, on Wednesday, called for the urgent release of the leader of Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, Nastura Ashir Sharif.
Nastura Ashir Sharif, chairman, Board of Trustees, Coalition of Northern Groups, was arrested on Tuesday by the police over a protest following the rising attacks and killings by armed bandits in Katsina State and northern Nigeria.
The National Coordinator of NDYC, Comrade Israel Uwejeyan, in a statement explained that the chairman of the Coalition of Northern Groups, Nastura Ashir Sharif was telling the government the truth of situation on ground and that things were falling apart in terms of security of lives and property in Katsina State and other parts of the country.
The group lamented the rate of innocent Nigerians are being killed, raped, and kidnapped following criminal activities by armed bandits, killer herdsmen, ritualists, armed robbers, rapists, and Boko Haram insurgents.
The statement explained that the Niger Delta Youth Congress watched with dismay the security situation in the country ranging from kidnapping, killer herdsmen, rape to freewill massacre of innocent citizens by armed bandits in the country.
The statement observed, “As a bonafide citizen of Nigeria, Shariff and everyone have the constitutional right to speak and express their feelings when the government is not performing as it is the constitutional responsibility of the Government to protect the lives and properties of its citizens. What wrong has he done?”
The Delta Niger youths, therefore, condemned in all entirety his arrest and demand his unconditional release without further delay while calling on the Inspector General Police to call his officers and men to effect his release.
The group maintained that no amount of intimidation can silence oppressed voices, because it is their constitutional right to let the government know that all is not well.
It emphasized that it refused to be intimidated, stressing that the time has come for the youths in the Niger Delta region and the Nation at large to rise up from mediocrity and unite against tyranny, insecurity, hunger, injustices, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, rape, murders that have become a norm in the country.
The statement noted that Nigerians were tired of the daily records of deaths in the country while the government is busy giving excuses and empty promises but are swift in crushing dissenting voices.
“They can crush some voices sometimes, but they can’t crush all voices all the times,” it explained.
