Vexed by the gruesome mass killings of innocent students of Yobe College of Agriculture in North East Nigeria by suspected armed Islamic insurgents at the weekend, a democracy and development oriented Non-Governmental Organization- Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the sack of the Yobe state commissioner of police and state Director of State Security Services [SSS] for the apparent dereliction of duty to protect innocent civilians.
HURIWA said the failure of the current federal Government to hold top security chiefs responsible for failure of security in their areas of jurisdiction is partly responsible for the continuous breach of peace and security by all sorts of armed Non-state actors across Nigeria since this current administration assumed office.
The Rights group also said Governments at every level have the constitutional obligation of safeguarding lives and property of every citizen in Nigeria and that the continuous violation of this sacred task is undemocratic and unconstitutional which according to it, may gradually erode people’s confidence in the ability of the government to exercise its constitutional authority and legitimacy.
Besides, the democracy -friendly Non-Governmental body-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA has protested vehemently, the continuous neglect by the federal government to take urgent, comprehensive and result-oriented measures to build up the intelligence gathering capacity of armed operatives of Nigeria’s security forces which is the root cause of the dare-devil ‘successes’ recorded so far by armed Islamic insurgents and other armed Non-State actors responsible for the spate of organized mass killings of Nigerians across Northern States of Borno; Yobe; Plateau and Kaduna States.
In a statement jointly endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and Director of Media Affairs Miss. Zainab Yusuf; HURIWA said the killings in the most despicable fashion of innocent youngsters in the Yobe State-based school of Agriculture by alleged armed Islamic insurgents, has shown clearly that the government is being economical with the truth on the efficacy or otherwise of the full scale state of emergency in the North East Zone even as the group charged the government to step up effort at ridding the country of armed insurgents by all lawful means.
The Rights group further blamed the political leaders of the North East including the governors for doing little or nothing to awaken the consciousness of the civil populace especially in Yobe state to be alive to their responsibility of being their brothers keepers by establishment of viable neighborhood security outfits to compliment the activities of the joint military task Force.
HURIWA Stated thus: “We condemn without reservations, the weekend massacre of the 40 innocent students of College of Agriculture Yobe state by suspected armed Islamic insurgents. We hereby call on governments at all levels to be sincere with patriotically equipping the operatives of Nigeria’s security agencies with sound intelligence gathering capacities and to take practical measures to sensitize the civilian populace to be alive to their civil duties of protecting their lives and property by all lawful means. The Yobe state governor should please spare Nigerians of his ‘crocodile tears’ and take measures to safeguard the civil populace.”
“Political, religious and civil society leaders of Northern extraction should stop the bonanza of blame game and resolve to restore peace; orderliness and respect to the fundamental human rights of all persons irrespective of their status; class or creed,” HURIWA states.
