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The Action Congress
of Nigeria (ACN) has advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to jump to
conclusions over Friday’s bomb attacks in Abuja, demanding that
investigators must be allowed to do a thorough job so they can fish out
the culprits.

This is coming just
as the Lagos State House of Assembly passed a resolution on Monday
demanding the apprehension of the perpetrators of the bomb explosion in
Abuja that almost marred the nation’s 50th Independence celebrations and
claimed about 10 lives.

The resolution,
passed by the lawmakers after deliberating on the event under matters of
urgent public importance, argued that many criminal acts have been
perpetrated in Nigeria with impunity and it is becoming a norm.

ACN’s national
publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, in a statement, warned that “hasty
conclusions, like the one in which the President said the attacks were
not perpetrated by MEND but by a small group of terrorists outside
Nigeria, is capable of hindering investigations.

“This reminds us of
what the then President Olusegun Obasanjo said when Alfred Dikibo was
murdered on February 6th, 2004, that armed robbers killed the PDP
stalwart, even when no investigation had yet been conducted into the
murder! Such statements from highly-placed personalities as the
president are diversionary and have a way of prejudicing
investigations.”

The party also
expressed the hope that the federal government would not capitalise on
the bomb attacks to target the opposition, especially in view of the
kind of the strong rhetoric emanating from the presidency.

It said there is no
doubt that Nigerians were unanimous in condemning the killing of
innocent people for whatever reason, “and we join them in condemning in
the strongest possible terms the senseless killings in Abuja on October
1st. Nothing in the world can justify the mindless shedding of innocent
blood,” the ACN statement read.

The party, however,
expressed concern at the complacency of the country’s security agencies
which, despite admitting being alerted by foreign intelligence agencies
and with a prior warning from MEND, still failed to prevent the
explosions that spoilt the country’s 50th independence anniversary
celebrations.

Expressing worry
over the nation’s poor security, the party wondered that “if they
(security agencies) cannot ensure the protection of lives and property
now, what assurance is there that they can do so during the 2011 general
elections and help provide a conducive atmosphere for the conduct of a
free, fair, and credible elections?

“While it is
reassuring that the president has promised to overhaul the security
system, we must warn that overhauling the system does not necessarily
mean engaging in cosmetic changes like the recent change of guards in
the military, the police, and the SSS. It must involve issues of
training, equipment, and conducive work environment, among others,” it
said.

The lawmakers advised the federal government to enhance its security
systems and also called on Nigerians to condemn the incident and demand
nothing short of a thorough investigation that will yield a logical
conclusion.