Katsina Residents Pray As Countdown To Military Intervention In Niger Begins

Katsina Residents Pray As Countdown To Military Intervention In Niger Begins

As the countdown to a military intervention in Niger begins, Katsina State residents are hoping for a peaceful resolution of the crisis on Thursday as they convened a prayer programme to seek divine help.

The prayer session was held at the People’s Square, Government House, Katsina.

In attendance were Governor Dikko Radda, his deputy, Alhaji Faruq Jobe and the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Faskari, among others.

Islamic clerics and groups offered prayers and recited the Holy Quran during the two-hour session which began at 11am.

Radda in his remarks urged all Nigerians to pray for the amicable resolution of the crisis in the Niger Republic.

He also called for full support for President Tinubu and the  ECOWAS as they worked to resolve the crisis.

The governor declared, “What we have been doing here this morning is to pray to the Almighty Allah to see to the peaceful and amicable resolution of the crisis in the Niger Republic.

“We are also calling on Allah to bring peace to our state and help us tackle banditry and other crimes.

“I urge us all to go back home and render full support for President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the ECOWAS in seeing to the amicable resolution of the crisis in Niger Republic.”

He assured that the President was working hard to mitigate the hardships brought on poor Nigerians by the fuel subsidy removal.

He added that the state was ready to provide palliatives for “the poor of the poor “in the state to mitigate the hardships they were going through.

“Our palliatives would get to the poor of the poor in the state wherever they are,” he promised.

Radda also told the gathering that he would not negotiate with terrorists but instead tackle them this year.

He enjoined residents to volunteer credible information on the terrorists and other criminals to the security agencies, assuring of protection of the identity of the informants.

In a related development, the Kebbi State government has lauded the efforts of the ECOWAS  to restore peace in Niger.

 “I am sure the motive of ECOWAS was not to engage in war with Niger Republic but how to ensure peace reins in all its countries,’’ the Press Secretary to the Kebbi State governor, Ahmed Idris, emphasised in a phone interview on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Adewole Adebayo, has backed ECOWAS’s move to use military action to restore constitutional order in Niger,

Adebayo in a post on X on Thursday via @Pres_Adebayo, said ECOWAS was on the good side of history, adding that the Niger junta should surrender because they could rule without being elected.

Adebayo said, “I call on the junta in Niger to surrender now and return to the barracks under amnesty. You cannot rule unelected by Nigériens. @ecowas_cedeao is on the good side of history. Imperialism of the East is no remedy for imperialism of the West. African nationalism must be democratic.”

However, a former Kaduna lawmaker at the National Assembly, Shehu Sani, kicked against military action, saying Nigeria should not be dragged to war.

“ECOWAS communique is contradictory; Opting for dialogue and setting up a standby force. Our message to the leaders of West Africa is unambiguously clear; Do not drag us to war because of a coup in Niger Republic,” @ShehuSani said on X.