Nigerian Governors Decry Ethnic Profiling Of Crime
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) says it is against ethnic profiling of crime and criminality in the country. The NGF Chairman, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, gave this indication when he briefed State House correspondents after an emergency meeting of the forum at the State House Banquet Hall. The meeting, in which the governors comprehensively reviewed the state of security across the states, started at 9 pm on Wednesday and lasted until midnight. “And some of the issues that were reviewed included, but not limited to the farmers/herders conflict, banditry and kidnapping, militancy and sea piracy, cultism, youth protests and insurgency. “And the following recommendations firmly came out of our meeting: “Governors are irrevocably committed to the protection of lives and property in our states and we are full of sympathy with those who have lost lives and property. “The governors’ forum has gone ahead also to provide some financial support to victims of the conflict experienced in Oyo and Ogun States where our delegation visited last week. “Nigerian governors also said in very clear terms, that crime and criminality should comprehensively be prosecuted wherever they may occur without ethnic, religious or any other colouration; governors are totally opposed to ethnic profiling of crime; knowing what has transpired in other parts of the world.’’ He cited the ethnic profiling of Jews in Germany which led to the Second World War and that of Tutsis which led to the genocide experienced in Rwanda. According to him, the NGF does not believe that crimes are associated with a particular ethnic group; and to that extent, it unreservedly condemns any attempt to profile any ethnic group on account of a particular crime. He said the governors were also totally opposed to the proliferation of fake news and the abuse on social media.
