Lagos APC Appeals for Ozekhome’s Release, Attributes Rising Insecurity to PDP’s Failure

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has
lamented the abduction of leading lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome
(SAN) by kidnappers in his native Edo State. The party said that
increasing cases of insecurity in Nigeria calls for urgent action to
address the rising poverty level in Nigeria, which is fueling the
security crisis in the country at present.
In a press release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Interim
Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that
rather than channel efforts to reduce poverty in Nigeria, the PDP
federal government is fueling massive corruption and looting that
had targeted resources meant for improving the lives of the
people.
It said that the country risks being plunged into an intractable
security quagmire unless proactive measures are taken to
leverage the huge national resources that are being looted
towards addressing the pressing needs of poor Nigerians.
The statement reads: “The kidnap of Mike Ozekhome is
condemnable given that he remains one of the few people that
share deep empathy with the Nigerian masses on issues that
border on their common interest. We see his kidnap as a sign that
Nigerians are becoming increasingly insecure and this demands an
urgent action aimed at taming the wildfire of youth unemployment
and general poverty. We feel concerned that the present federal
government is not interested in dealing with the issue of
joblessness and increasing poverty aside from dropping laughable
statistics of economic growth while the reality shows massive
penury and general poverty.
“We find it detestable that the nation is being plunged into a
worsening security miasma because the level of poverty continues
to rise while ironically, the country harvests hugely from an
unflagging oil boom, which in fourteen years of PDP corrupt and
inept leadership, has left Nigeria a poverty-ridden country where
various types of violent crime have made life brutish, short and
nasty. APC believes that solving the problem of kidnapping and
other forms of insecurity starts with engaging trained and
capable Nigerians youths in meaningful work. We believe that
Nigeria has the resources to ensure that its educated youths
secure employment after their education instead of pursuing a life
in crime.
“We use this medium to appeal to the kidnappers of Mike
Ozekhome to urgently release him as he is a wrong target. As a
human rights activist, we want to let the kidnappers know that
Ozekhome is concerned about the worsening fates of Nigerian
youths and indeed all Nigerians as we wallow in unrestrained
misery from the hands of political profiteers. We urge them to
listen to the yearnings of Nigerians and release Mike Ozekhome
from captivity so he can continue to make his contributions to the
solution of the problems that presently beset the Nigerian masses,
including those holding him hostage.”