The Initiative for Grassroot Advancement (INGRA), has expressed concern over violence in Lokoja by armed group, as a result of looting, insisting that good governance, transparency and accountability to the citizens would have averted the ugly trend.
INGRA in a statement on Monday by its Executive Director, Hamza Aliyu made available to CAPITAL POST, said the.EndSARS protests across the nation has exposed governance as anti-people, a situation he posited, made the younger people to lose confidence in the present generation of leaders.
He called for investigation of what he called “amorphous armed groups” that attacked people in Lokoja, fearing that if nothing was done, the forthcoming Local Government election in Kogi State would be deadly.
The statement reads: “The deadly violence and death and looting that has occurred in Lokoja on Sunday 25th and Monday 26th October 2020, has raised once again the concern of well meaning citizens of the State to the call for government to take serious the issue of good governance and transparency and accountability of state resources.
“The #EndSARS nationwide protests has exposed the challenges that has bedeviled our governance process. Many citizens especially young people are fast losing confidence in this generation of leaders at the community, religious and political levels.
“This frustrations and anger has boiled over into criminal activities that have led to deaths, sorrow and blood in the once peaceful State.
“It is important that the perception by many citizens of the involvement of amorphous “armed groups” during these looting that took place on Monday is quickly investigated by the Kogi State government, looking at the fact that we are approaching the December 12th 2020 Local Government Elections. Such individuals and groups must be brought to justice and efforts put in place to avoid such callous wanton deaths and maiming of our citizens.
“The heartbreaking death of a physically disabled young man in Lokongoma is condemnable and must be investigated. We must never allow the lives of our people to be taken unconstitutionally.
“We call on the citizens to obey laid down constitutional government laws and orders and desist from criminality of any kind. We must never justify our anger and frustration with our governance process by breaking and looting public and private establishments and stealing. We must follow constitutional processes of holding our government accountable.
Finally we call for all law abiding citizens to condemn the looting and criminality that has led to these destruction and deaths. Lokoja and Kogi State in general needs peace as we move towards the Local Government elections”, the statement concluded.
