Nigerian statesmen and leaders under the aegis of top pan-Nigerian groups, the Pro National Conference Organisations (PRONACO) and the Project Nigeria Movement (PNM), have condemned the killing of Mrs Funke Olakunrin and called for an urgent national political dialogue.

Mrs Olakunrin, who is the daughter of Pan-Yoruba movement Afenifere leader Reuben Fasoranti, was murdered on Friday by gunmen believed to be herdsmen, an act that has sparked outrage.

Describing the murder as dastardly, wicked and ungodly, both groups said the murder was unacceptable and unbearable, “as it is capable aggravating the already tensed situation in the Southwest and foisting unwanted civil strife on the country”.

“We, therefore, strongly call on President Muhammadu Muhammadu, Chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and National Leader of the ruling APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, among others to urgently put a strong machinery in motion for National political engagements to prevent a breakdown of law and order over the cruel and criminal killings in Southwest by armed Fulani robbers and bandits,” they said in a statement signed by their Joint Spokesperson, Olawale Okunniyi.

Beyond the call to the President and others, PRONACO and PNM notified its allied national leaders, statesmen and heads of nationality and self-determination groups about a possible emergency political convergence next week.

The groups commiserated with the Afenifere leader and prayed for “divine fortitude” for those who have lost loved ones to banditry and kidnapping in the country.

PRONACO is a pan-Nigerian movement initiated under the leadership of the late Chief Anthony Enahoro and the Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka to find solutions to the nation’s challenges, while Project Nigeria Movement is a coalition of civil society groups led by respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ben Nwabueze. (Channels TV)