A youth organization, Forum for Nigerian Youth Advancement (FNYA), has advised the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), to await the outcome of deliberation of the National Assembly (NASS), on the Bill concerning the National Taskforce on the Prohibition of Illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons and Pipeline Vandalism (NATFORCE) before taking any action.
The Forum is reacting to the reported declaration of NATFORCE by the NSA as an illegal security outfit before the conclusion of the legislative house on the Bill describing the action as anti-democratic and pre-emptive.
The concerned organization, in a media statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Osuola Olabamidele and made available to the newsmen in Abuja, said, apart from being undemocratic, the action is also against the rule of law since there is a subsisting Court verdict that the outfit is a legal security arrangement.
In addition, the statement, reminded that the bill sponsored by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara (APC, Bauchi) and Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi) of the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively, is still before the honourable house and has even passed the second reading.
As per the existing court verdict, the Forum pointed out that, an Abuja Federal High Court under Hon. Justice E.S. Chukwu in 2013, on April 30 to be precise has declared the outfit legal, wondering why the NSA should ignore the ruling and go ahead to place a disbandment order on a legal outfit!
The case was a civil suit brought before that court by the outfit against the Federal Minister of Finance and the Inspector General of Police, and the judge declared the outfit as legal.
While appealing to the NSA to reverse his decision, the organization said the step was hasty, unpopular and against the interest of the Nigerian people, stating that, such an outfit is desired in the country now because of the security challenges facing her in the present time.
Besides, the Forum goes on to say that, enquiries have revealed that the, if the NATFORCE is disbanded, not less than 270, 000 Nigerian youth the outfit pencilled down for employment would still remain in the labour market, appealing that, the NATFORCE should be left to be for the general good of the country.
In conclusion, the organization urged the good people of Nigeria to appeal to the Federal Government to prevail on the NSA to suspend the disbandment order till the end of the NASS deliberation on the Bill because of the importance of any efforts at augmenting the security arrangement in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment