By our correspondent
A call has gone to Nigeria President Bola Tinubu to remove or redeploy Minister of State for Defense, Bello Matawalle over persistence insecurity in the country, particularly recent Easter killings.
A United States Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives for District 14, Kimberly Daniels made the call in a statement on Tuesday amid a surge in killings and heightened insecurity in Nigeria.
According to a Press release and assessment report forwarded to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Daniels condemned the brutal killings of Christians on Palm and Easter Sundays in Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and other parts of Nigeria.
According to her, the Nigerian community and leaders have expressed exhaustion with political statements from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s demanding “real action,” while the voice of innocent blood cries out from the ground.
She noted that reports have identified “red flags,” including allegations of complicity with bandits during Mr Matawalle’s tenure as governor of Zamfara State, on the ground testimonies of harboring bandit leaders and the facilitation of ransom payments.
“Despite condemnation from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, local leaders and survivors report a growing disconnection between government rhetoric and the reality of safety on the ground”, Daniels said.
The lawmaker therefore urged President Tinubu to remove Matawalle from his cabinet or make a redeployment to other ministry.
“Immediate Leadership Review: The removal or redeployment of Minister Bello Matawalle to restore the integrity of the defense ministry; Institutional Transparency: Conducting a transparent investigation into allegations of high-level complicity with banditry to regain the trust of the Nigerian people; Enhanced Protection: Implementing more robust security measures for vulnerable communities in the North-Central and Northwestern belts of the country,” she stated.
She urged the US, United Kingdom and other international communities to increase diplomatic pressure on the Nigerian government to ensure that those accused of aiding terrorism are held accountable.
“Increase diplomatic pressure to ensure that those accused of aiding terrorism are held accountable.
“The position I take on this issue is because of citizens reaching out to me from Nigeria. My connection to Nigeria as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the chairwoman of UN-WCD would not allow me to be silent,” she added.
Representative Daniels and Plakon sponsored House Resolution 761, which condemns the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and supports the redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).