The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Katsina and Zamfara states following a surge of violent attacks that have reportedly left more than 140 people dead in the past two months.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the killings as fresh evidence of Nigeria’s “collapsed security architecture” and condemned the federal government’s handling of the crisis.
The ADC expressed outrage over the massacre in Malumfashi, Katsina State, where gunmen shot dead 30 worshippers in a mosque and set fire to homes, killing at least 20 villagers. The party linked the attack to a disturbing wave of violence across the northwest, including the killing of 47 people in Zamfara—38 of whom were executed despite ransom payments.
“This evil act epitomises the horrors Nigerians have been forced to endure under this administration,” the statement read. “It is also a damning proof of the total collapse of our national security system, further underscored by the Chief of Defence Staff’s call for citizens to learn self-defence.”
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The party accused President Tinubu of neglecting urgent national crises while focusing on foreign trips. “Instead of confronting these tragedies with the seriousness they demand, the President continues to jet across the world chasing photo opportunities, while his citizens are being killed in dozens at home,” the ADC said.
The statement also criticised PDP governors for holding a political gathering in Zamfara days after the massacre. “Rather than rally around their colleague to address the killings, they staged a political rally, smiling for cameras in a community still drenched in blood and grief,” it said.
Beyond the call for a state of emergency, the ADC demanded a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s security framework, stressing that the CDS’s appeal for citizens to defend themselves shows the system is broken.
“The APC and the PDP have both failed Nigerians. They care more about power and politics than about the lives and welfare of the people,” the party declared.
