Comrade Timi Frank, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, has sharply condemned the killing of nine women by military personnel during a protest in Lamurde, Adamawa State.
Soldiers reportedly opened fire on the group on Monday. Besides the nine who were killed, 51 other people were taken to hospital, and many remain there with serious gunshot wounds.
Frank called the killings “senseless, unforgivable, inhuman and avoidable.” He said the victims were ordinary women, many of them mothers and the main earners in their homes. He added that they had only come out to protest the growing insecurity in their communities and were asking for protection for their children. “Their only offence was demanding safety,” he said.
The incident has led to wide public anger. Frank said it is part of a larger pattern of state violence and military impunity in Nigeria and other African countries. He gave a figure that more than 10,000 young Nigerians have died or gone missing in recent years during military actions and extra judicial events.
“This culture of violence and unaccountability must end,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
Frank rejected official promises of inquiries that he described as mere “political theatre.” He pointed to past events, including the #EndSARS killings at Lekki Toll Gate, and crackdowns in several African countries where those who ordered shootings have not been held to account. He pledged that this time there would be no more delays or empty probes.
As ULMWP Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, Frank issued clear demands. He asked for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the soldiers involved and their commanders who gave orders. He also said the federal and state governments should fully compensate the families of the dead and provide scholarships for the victims’ children and long term support to prevent the families from falling into extreme need.
He ended with a final plea: “These women must not die in vain.”
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