Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and its continental body Association of African Writers on Human and Peoples Rights (ARIRIGHTS) have jointly backed the decision at the weekend by the immediate past Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Onyeabo Azubuike Ihejirika [rtd] to institute a judicial proceedings against the self -acclaimed negotiator in the protracted bloody terrorists attacks by the North Eastern based Boko Haram armed Islamic rebels Dr Stephen Davis of Australia challenging the allegations linking him [General Ihejirika] to the sponsorship of the dreaded armed Islamic murderous insurgents. Boko Haram terror networks have killed over 12, 000 innocent Nigerians in the last three years, HURIWA and AFRIRIGHTS noted.
Besides, the human rights groups have thrown their weight behind the clean bill of health granted General Ihejirika declaring him innocent which was recently made by the Nigerian State Security Services [DSS] just as the bodies doubted in the strongest possible terms the nexus between the patriotic leadership style adopted whilst in military service by the now retired Chief of Army Staff General Ihejerika which significantly quashed several attempts by the armed Islamic Insurgents to successfully attack several soft civilian targets with these unbelievable and substantially gutter allegations of his linkage with the funding of Boko Haram activities.
The human rights organizations said it was inconceivable that a fine gentleman like the immediate past chief of Army Staff who spearheaded the establishment and funding of a vibrant pro-human rights unit within the Army headquarters known as civilian-military Relations unit could be so linked to the sponsorship of a well sophisticated terror group which has links with global jihadist platforms and which the then Chief of Army Staff waged unrelenting battle with to crush them. The groups said for the fact that the globally acclaimed professional American spies – the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] and even the Israeli secret service with the Russian counterparts [KGB] have no science-based evidence linking General Ihejirika to sponsorship of terrorism, the claim made by the Australian is at best a hear say gossip that must be dismissed swiftly.
In a media statement jointly signed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Ms Zainab Yusuf of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] on behalf of both human rights bodies the Rights groups said when the ‘wild’ and substantially ‘half baked’ ‘beer parlour’s tissues of lies’ were circulated by the Australian Dr Stephen Davis in which he in an unmistakable but mischievous fashion alleged that the erstwhile Chief of Army Staff General Ihejirika was involved in the sponsorship of the dreaded Islamic rebels known as Boko Haram, we took it with a pinch of salt hoping that in the shortest possible period the person been wrongly accused in the most bizarre way by a foreigner who wears a self- acclaimed toga as the sole individual negotiator with the Boko Haram, will rise to the occasion and provide unassailable and evidence- based responses and we are indeed glad that General Ihejirika has not disappointed we the members of the organized civil society community in Nigeria and on the African continent regarding his complete state of innocence.
The Rights groups further stated thus; ”After a very comprehensive background investigation of the official and unofficial activities of the immediate past Chief of Army Staff General Onyeabor Ihejirika we have found out that his well considered defence against these range of wild allegations of sponsorship of the Boko Haram Insurgency for now remain unassailable and impregnable given the list of projects and units that this fine gentleman established whilst in service and indeed while he headed the Nigerian Army and this included the establishment of the 7 division of the Nigerian Army with operational location in the epicentre of the counter insurgency activities of the joint military task force in Maiduguri. General Ihejirika without any shadow of doubts was responsible for the consolidation and strengthening of the Nigerian Army’s Media Information processing centre, an outfit been credited with liberalizing the unimpeded flow of information concerning the counter insurgency battles waged by the Nigerian Military. This gentleman also established many pro-democracy structures within the Nigerian military to promote and protect the professional and human rights of the fighters. We then wonder from where this Australian got his false and substantially embarrassing allegations linking General Ihejirika even in the remotest of ways with the sponsorship actively or passively of the completely armed Islamic terror group. General Ihejirika who is the first ever Igbo born General to reach his pinnacle of the military career in Nigeria nearly fifty years after the 30 months fratricidal civil war, could not have been the sponsor of a bunch of rag tag misguided street urchins who clearly are receiving moral and funding motivations from some reactionary forces with pathological hatred for Nigeria’s unity and pluralism.”
”HURIWA and AFRIRIGHTS have taken profound notice with delight the decision of General Ihejirika through his formidable team of legal professionals headed by the reputable Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria Professor C.U Ilegbune to warn through a strongly worded legal notice/letter to Dr Stephen Davis, the Australian self -made negotiator, to demand that he tenders an immediate and comprehensive apology within specific legal period of time and pay compensation of $50 Billion USD or face huge legal battles to be waged by him to clear his name of these damaging but false allegations linking him to the dreaded Boko Haram Insurgents. In logic we know about the law that states that nothing can both be and not be and so we doubt strongly the credibility of these range of movie-like allegations by Dr Stephen Davis in which he stridently attempted to libel General Ihejirika by alleging his connection with the active funding of the bloody violence in the North of Nigeria. General Ihejirika from our vast findings is a hero who should and must be celebrated for doing his best humanly speaking to bring to an end the deadly insurgency that threatens the territorial integrity of Nigeria and so we think that any silly attempt even by a White man parading around as a negotiator to hood wink members of the public regarding the remote involvement of General Ihejirika should and must be condemned and rejected outrightly.”
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] is a democracy inclined Non-Governmental membership organization with over 20,000 members across Nigeria.
