….Will amnesty for cultists end the orgy of violent killings in the state?
As Rivers State continues to grapple with an increasing rate of insecurity, with killings becoming the norm daily, especially in the Ogoni axis of the state, many residents have called for the state government to grant amnesty to cult members as a way of ending the killings in the state.
In a survey conducted by theportcitynews, 60 per cent of respondents who are residents believe that granting cult members amnesty will only lead to a temporal break.
They argued that such an approach does have a long-term effect as the present administration had done it two years ago but it did not yield effects v.
According to them, such an approach makes those who are doing legitimate jobs look like idiots as it shows that the only way to be recognised is to go into crime.
Thirty per cent of the respondents believes that the security agencies are not doing enough to curtail the killings, stressing that the police and other security services should live up to their responsibilities.
They also asked the state government to inaugurate the Neighbourhood Watch Corps as a way of curtailing the killings in the communities.
Other respondents want the state government to grant cult members amnesty and also train them in skills acquisition program that will enable them to remain law-abiding citizens and productive.