The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, on Monday blamed the increasing spate of sectarian killings by “unruly street urchins and Islamic extremists” in Kano State, Kubwa in Abuja and Otukpo in Benue State on “the dominance of the defence architecture by officers from the north and from one religious affiliation.”
Addressing journalists in Abuja on the increasing spate of sectarian killings in the North-central Nigeria, the National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko noted that there had been a lot of clamour that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had always appointed people from the Muslim states to head strategic defence offices.
He then stressed that “The impression you convey to these urchins and hoodlums all over the place is that we are the owners of this country. That when they kill, they can dissolve into the larger society and they believe nothing will happen; that their brothers will protect them.”
Onwubiko, who maintained that the President must appoint people from all affiliations, stated that “in as much as merit is uppermost, there is no ethnic group or religious faith that you cannot find qualified people to head these strategic security positions. The President must balance his appointments.
“As it relates to these sectarian killings, let every segment of the Nigerian society be given a sense of belonging.”
Citing various cases of sectarian killings reported in recent times, the HURIWA Coordinator said, “We are also worried by the increasing scope of targeted killings and forced disappearances of supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and MASSOB in the South East of Nigeria. These massive attacks on innocent Nigerians have gone on for far too long and the Nigeria Police Force and other policing institutions set up under the Nigerian laws for the protection of lives and property of Nigerians have often looked the other way whilst these Nigerians are killed.
“Again, the lawless activities of commercial Keke operators in Abuja which has cost the lives of two Nigerians- one from Hausa Ethnic group in Niger State and a middle level Federal Civil servant slaughtered in Kubwa and the other an Igbo trader in Apo Abuja by these outlaws who dominate the commercial tricycle Keke operations in Abuja have happened for over six Months but till date Nigerians are yet to hear about the quality and speed of prosecution of any arrested suspects of these dastardly killings.
“Indeed, these killers are moving about freely in the larger communities whilst the security forces set up by the Constitution to protect Nigerians have failed to take concrete actions to arrest and professionally prosecute these killers and these unprofessional attitudes of police have fostered impunity in the Country.”
Onwubiko continued: “a female pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and mother of seven, Mrs. Eunice Elisha was on Saturday morning killed by unknown assailants while preaching around the Gbazango-West area of Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory.
“Elisha, whose birthday was just a couple of weeks away, was stabbed in the stomach and she also had a cut in her neck. The 42-year-old woman was a deaconess at the Divine Touch Parish of the RCCG, Old NEPA Road, Phase 4, Kubwa.
“The RCCG preacher was found dead in a pool of her own blood with a copy of the Bible, a megaphone and a mobile phone. She was found dead by residents who alerted policemen who came to evacuate her remains to the police station where her husband went to identify the body.
“Only few weeks back, we saw how so called angry Muslims youths in Kano decapitated a woman trader over allegations that she blasphemed Prophet Muhammad. The victim, who was said to be of Igbo extraction, was accused of blasphemy during a religious argument at Wambai market.
“As if these sectarian killings aren’t enough, again we woke up a certain morning to read about the mob killing by largely Northern operators of Keke tricycles in Apo of a young Igbo trader over disagreement that has to do with the transport fare.”
On how to arrest the disturbing trend, HURIWA stressed that “The Federal Attorney General and Minister should convoke or convene a national crime situation and prosecution monitoring conference alongside 36 states.
“Mr President should declare a state of national security emergency to enable soldiers and other competent armed forces to go after mass murderers. Mr President should diffuse the social tension in the land by ensuring a total rejigging of the national security apparatus and personnel so all religious and regional ethno-religious affiliations would have a sense of belonging.
“The dominance of the defence architecture by officers from the north and from one religious affiliation has created social panic and tension and a considerable quantum of apprehension by other Nigerians who see these decisions by Mr President as favouring only officers from his religious affiliations.
“The time to do these is now. We commend Mr President and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai over the consistent effort to rid nigeria of terrorists. WE ARE aware that Section14 2(b) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended states thus;
“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
“The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”
HURIWA further proposed that state Houses of Assembly should pass a law to establish the setting up of crime data bank in their respective states, whereby all categories of criminals convicted by the State High Courts are documented and for such people to be placed on closed security watch even as those convicted of such serious crime as murder and rape of minors are monitored to ascertain their movements and locations using wearing some scientific accessories that can easily decode their movements for the rest of their lives.
According to Onwubiko, “We also propose necessary amendments to Nigeria’s Criminal Law to ban those convicts who escapes the hangman’s from public offices for life.
“We once more support the enforcement of the death penalty for such heinous crimes as murder but in the case whereby the murder convicts escape being executed after all legal processes are exhausted then we propose that their movement are monitored for life and that they are banned from ever holding public offices from the local government levels up to the national levels.”
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