A pro-democracy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has told the minister of Defence, retired Major General Mansur Dan-Ali to stop providing subtle justification for the dastardly criminal attacks by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen.
In a statement through its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, the group also called on President Buhari to respect the constitutional provision of federal character principle and commence the immediate and comprehensive reconstitution of the national security team to reflect the Federal character of Nigeria and end the ugly era of the’ Fulanisation’ of national security team.
The group insisted that the lopsided domination of the security forces by Hausa/Fulani ethnicity was a grave breach of the extant provision.
The Statement reads in Part, “Nigerians expect the holder of the high office of Defence Minister to be patriotic enough to denounce blood cuddling terror attacks being masterminded by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen, but what has come out from the meeting of President Buhari’s security meeting as relayed by the Defence Minister shows that the current administration is not determined to arrest, prosecute and punish all perpetrators of the bloody killings in Benue, Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa and Enugu states suspected to be armed Fulani herdsmen but rather the national security forum has now become the mouthpiece of cattle owners who are mostly Fulani”.
“The current administration must respect the constitution and provide security to lives and property of the citizens and should desist from making irresponsible and insensitive statements which may be construed as seeking justification for the numerous bloody attacks waged by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen”.
“The claim that anti-open grazing laws and the blockade of grazing routes for the attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen is shocking and alarming to have emanated from someone whose salaries are maintained by the tax payers of all ethno-religious components that make up the Nigerian state. The Defence Minister must be sanctioned by relevant authorities for issuing this callous and insensitive statement which amounts to dancing on the graves of the thousands of innocent Nigerians massacred by armed Fulani herdsmen in the last three years since Buhari came into office”.
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