- Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) calls for an end to the barbaric killings and unprecedented outbreaks of violence in the South-East geopolitical zone
- HURIWA urged the Federal Government to sever diplomatic ties with Finland and expel the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria in order to secure the arrest of Simon Ekpa
- HURIWA also urged President Bola Tinubu to uphold the rule of law and democratic principles
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a civil rights advocacy group, called yesterday for an end to the barbaric killings and unprecedented outbreaks of violence that have turned the South-East geopolitical zone into bloody battlefields.
The group also urged the Federal Government to sever diplomatic ties with Finland and expel the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria in order to secure the arrest of Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based agitator who has been instigating sit-ins, violence, and killings in the South-East through destructive commands and orders to his foot soldiers from faraway Finland.
According to HURIWA’s national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the newly appointed service chiefs should get to work right away and prioritise solutions to the zone’s insecurity.
HURIWA also urged President Bola Tinubu to uphold the rule of law and democratic principles by directing the Attorney General of the Federation, the Ministry of Justice, and the Department of State Services to comply with an Appeal Court ruling that released detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu.
According to the group, hundreds of innocent residents have been killed in the South-East by gunmen and security operatives, particularly in the last two years since Kanu’s imprisonment in mid-2021.
According to an investigation funded by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the South-East micro businesses squandered 71 sit-at-home Mondays between August 9, 2021, and December 19, 2022, losing N5.375 trillion ($12.215 billion).
According to HURIWA, the massive economic losses and irreversible loss of life are painful and have had devastating effects on the entire South-East geopolitical zone.
Political leaders from the South-East zone met in Abuja on Monday and urged the Federal Government to restore normalcy to the zone. Among those in attendance are Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum; Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo; and Chris Ngige, former Minister of Labour.
HURIWA’s Onwubiko said;
The sit-at-home order and violence that has persisted in South East are alarming. The Federal Government should cut off diplomatic ties with its Finnish counterpart and expel the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria over their failure to arrest and prosecute Simon Ekpa who is allegedly causing violence in the South-East by issuing illegal orders for persistent sit-at-home and the attendant violent enforcement of these illegal orders
The new service chiefs and heads of security agencies must quickly get to work and use intelligence to stop these killings. President Bola Tinubu should also obey the rule of law and democratic tenets by ordering the secret police to obey the Appeal Court order freeing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.