Sheikh Goni Aisami, an Islamic cleric in Yobe State, is believed to have been slain by a soldier on Friday.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan has urged the appropriate authorities—particularly the police—to secure swift justice for Aisami.
According to a statement issued by Lawan’s spokeswoman, Ola Awoniyi, the appeal was made on Wednesday while Lawan was in Gashua, Yobe State, paying a sympathy visit to the late Cleric’s family.
The Senate President talked to journalists after joining the family members in praying for the late Sheikh’s peace along with him and his entourage.
“I’m taking this opportunity to urge the authourities, the Police particularly, to ensure speedy justice for the late Sheikh.
“And I want to at this point commend our people for remaining calm and peaceful and that is what we are known for in this part of the country.
“But I must insist that justice must be done for the murder of our Sheikh.
“The Sheikh was my Special Assistant on Religious Affairs and I worked with him very closely over the years. We pray Almighty Allah to grant him Aljannah Firdaus.
“Killings like this are not normal, are not usual in this part of the country. Here in Yobe North particularly. Therefore, we must do everything possible to arrest this kind of situation.
“When we have to recruit soldiers, police and other security agencies,
we must profile, we must scrutinise to ensure that we don’t recruit people of questionable character, people that have very criminal background. This is very important and very imperative.
“I want to also assure everyone that we will continue to pursue this case until justice is done.
“As for the security situation across the country, I can say that in the last three weeks or so, I have witnessed some improvement in the security situation across the country.
“We in the National Assembly will continue to support the executive arm of government and particularly support our Armed Forces and other security agencies to ensure that they protect life and property of Nigerians.
“The situation may be serious, may be dire but our determination, by the Grace of God, will overwhelm the challenges that we face in the area of security as a country.
“I want to urge Nigerians to continue to be patient with us, to continue to pray for us, those of us in government. We are not going to relent until Nigeria is secured,” Lawan said.
