The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately declare a State of Emergency in Katsina and Zamfara States following the gruesome massacre in Malumfashi, Katsina, where dozens of worshippers and villagers were killed.
In a statement released on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the killings as another dark evidence of Nigeria’s failing security system. He noted that the massacre in Malumfashi is part of a wider wave of attacks across Katsina and Zamfara, which have claimed more than 140 lives in the last two months.
According to the ADC, the Malumfashi incident saw 30 worshippers shot dead during dawn prayers in a mosque, while 20 villagers were burned alive in their homes. Similar tragedies were also recorded in Zamfara, where dozens of residents, including hostages, were killed even after ransom was paid. Entire villages have been ransacked and scores abducted.
“The ADC therefore calls for an immediate declaration of a State of Emergency in Katsina and Zamfara States until the government is able to stem the tide of bloodshed in those places and restore some order,” Abdullahi said.
Criticism of PDP Governors and Presidency
The ADC strongly criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors for holding a political meeting in Zamfara shortly after the killings, calling it insensitive to the grieving families.
The party also slammed President Tinubu, accusing him of focusing more on international trips than addressing urgent domestic security crises.
“It is disheartening to note that instead of confronting these urgent national tragedies with the seriousness they demand, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to jet-set across the world, chasing photo-ops, while his people are dying in dozens at home,” the statement read.
The ADC also faulted the President for not directly consoling families of victims or reassuring survivors of their safety. “This negligence would have been unthinkable in those countries that the President loves to visit,” Abdullahi added.
The party stressed that the worsening insecurity highlights the urgent need to review Nigeria’s national security architecture. It recalled the recent advice by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, who suggested that Nigerians learn self-defence, describing it as proof of the government’s failure to secure its people.
“This evil act epitomises the horrors that Nigerians have been forced to endure under this administration. It is also a damning proof of the total collapse of our national security architecture,” the ADC concluded.
With calls mounting for stronger action against banditry and terrorism in the North-West, the pressure is now on President Tinubu to respond decisively. The ADC insists that without urgent reforms, Nigeria risks further loss of lives and erosion of public trust in governance.
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