LAGOS, Nigeria — The Nigerian bishops said lack of arrests in widespread attacks gives credibility to the idea that the government is either complacent or compromised.
“Nigerians are sick of flimsy excuses and bogus promises from the government to deal with terrorists,” wrote Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, newly elected president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, on behalf of the bishops.
“Considering the billions of naira appropriated for security and the fight against terrorism in recent times, it is difficult to imagine that a large number of terrorists, who unleashed terror on unarmed and law-abiding citizens can disappear in broad daylight without a trace,” he said.
“It is indeed very hard to believe that our security apparatus lacks intelligence or the ability to fight and defeat terrorists in our nation,” the archbishop said.
His April 4 statement came as the country was still dealing with a March 28 attack on a commuter train. Gunmen detonated a bomb on the tracks and opened fire on the train; when Ugorji issued his statement, more than 150 people were still missing.
He also mentioned a recent incident in which more than 200 people on motorbikes rode across the runway of the Kaduna International Airport in broad daylight, killing at least one person.
Expressing condolences to the victims’ families, the archbishop noted that multiple incidents have occurred throughout the nation without a single arrest or prosecution.
“As a mark of honor, the government should rise to its primary responsibility of protecting the life and property of its citizens,” he said.
He recalled that Nigeria had long teetered on the precipice of a failed state. Nigeria is bleeding profusely, he said, and the government should take urgent steps to unmask terrorists and their sponsors, without delay.
