POLICE DISRUPTION OF GOVERNORS' MEETING TANTAMOUNT TO HIGH TREASON-HURIWA

A democracy inclined Non-Governmental organization- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] has raised alarm of the far reaching adverse consequences to Nigeria's fledgling democracy of the incessant cases of police interferences in the political affairs of law abiding political office holders especially the governors belonging to the breakaway faction of the ruling national party- Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] and has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the African Union to intervene and stop possible breach of peace and destabilization of Nigeria's democracy.

The Human Rights Group also singled out the Rivers state Commissioner of Police Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu and the Inspector General of Police Mr. Mohammed Dikko Abubakar of abusing their official privileges by working to undermine the legitimate and constitutional authorities of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and other governors known as Group of seven PDP Governors who have recently kicked against the rumoured second term ambition of President Good luck Jonathan. HURIWA further accused President Jonathan of looking the other way while the hierarchy of the Nigerian Police Force manipulate state commissioners of police in Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory to abuse the fundamental human rights to freedom of association and movement of these public office holders identified as not in support of the second term ambition of the President.

The Rights group specifically condemned last weekend's disruption of the meeting of some five governors at the Abuja Kano state Governor's lodge by the Police led by the Divisional Police Officer Mr. Nnana Ama who reportedly led three truck loads of armed police operatives to invade the sanctity of the Kano state Governor's lodge and successfully disrupted the peaceful meeting of these Nigerians who have all the constitutional rights to freedoms of movement and peaceful assembly as guaranteed by chapter four of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution [as amended]; the Universal Declarations of Human Rights and the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights which have all been domesticated by Nigeria. HURIWA said the consistent rape of the Nigerian Constitution by the Nigerian Police must be stopped to stop a possible spiraling effect of these gross abuses on the corporate image of Nigeria and the survival of plural democracy and respect for fundamental human rights.

HURIWA recalled that the Governors whose peaceful meeting at the Kano Governor's lodge in Abuja was disrupted rudely in a gestapo fashion by the Police are the Kano state governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers state; Sule Lamido of Jigawa state; Dr. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and retired Rear Admiral [Navy] Murtallah Nyako of Adamawa state. HURIWA further criticized the hierarchy of the National Assembly for sleeping on their constitutional oversight duties of stopping the continuous breaches by armed police of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights belonging to the citizenry of all status which are inalienable, universal and binding.

In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja and endorsed jointly by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director; Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said these incessant undemocratic and illegal disruptions by operatives of the Nigerian Police on purported orders from 'above' of peaceful assembly of Nigerian citizens who are also high public office holders based on any nebulous extant ruling of a court is a mere subterfuge for the institutionalization of dictatorship and tyranny even as the Rights group claimed that these interferences by armed operatives of the Nigerian Police under the direct command of the Inspector General of Police amounted to high treason which according to the group must be frowned at strongly and the perpetrators arrested and prosecuted to preserve the sanctity of the Nigerian Constitution.

"We are studying the ugly situations with the long term plan of possibly filing a petition with the United Nations secretary General Mr. Banki Moon and the United Nations Human Rights Council to call on these bodies to intervene and stop the unfolding carefully choreographed plot by reactionary forces in the Nigerian Police to undermine the advancement of democracy through flagrant curtailing and unconstitutional abridgment of the fundamental human rights of Nigerian citizens whose only 'offence' is their supposed political and ideological differences with the Abuja 'powers-that-be'. Our team of investigators are already compiling details of what would be sent to these global human rights leaders; the office of the President f the United States of America; the Prime Minister of Britain and other friendly international human rights organizations  to seek their active intervention to save Nigeria's troubled democracy from being 'assassinated' through state-sponsored clandestine anti-democratic project of the Nigerian Police bent on working to give the current President unimpeded path to the 2015 election without much of a political contest. As a democracy friendly body we call on all right thinking persons in Nigeria and internationally to intervene and put the Nigerian Police and the Presidency under intense pressure to stop them from proceeding with these acts of callous sabotage of constituted authorities in some state governments whose governors are perceived as political opponents of President Good luck Jonathan".

5/11/2013.