DEMOCRACY DAY: CAN Rejoices With Nigeria, Government

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) congratulates Nigerians and the government on the occasion of Democracy Day even as it commends the military for its submission to the civil authority as clearly stated in the Constitution. 

CAN rejoices with Nigeria that since 29 May, 1999, Nigerians have been enjoying an uninterrupted democratic system which is the longest period since when the country attained independence.

We congratulate the Federal Government, the 36 State governments and the Federal Capital Territory and all the Local government councils on this auspicious occasion and pray that God will give our leaders the needed wisdom to live up to the people’s expectations.

CAN acknowledges the patriotism of the military for their submission to the civil authority according to the spirit of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which makes them to resist the temptation of interrupting democracy despite the obvious failures of the political class.

The Association regrets that the three tiers of government have failed in all fronts; social, economic and political and the unprecedented killings in the land, hardship, poor state of infrastructures and reports of suicide in the country are too obvious to be ignored. 

CAN therefore identifies with families that are still mourning as a result of the incessant attacks from the criminal Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers, ritual killers and armed robbers who are on the loose as we pray to God to console and comfort all the bereaved and we also pray for our leaders and all the security agencies to wake up from their slumber to their responsibilities before the situation gets out of hand.

As the general election draws close, we urge the politicians to avoid hate and inciting speeches, every eligible voter should go and register. Voters Card is the power of the electorate to elect whoever they want. If you are involved, you get the leader you demand and if you failed to be involved, you get the leader you deserved.

CAN once again tasks the security agencies to be more dedicated and loyal to the nation in their duties. They have what it takes to stop the needless bloodletting in the country if they wanted to. Let there be peace and unity. 

The three tiers of government should strive hard to make the much-awaited dividends of democracy available to the people. Let there be rooms for gainful employment for our youths who are roaming the streets. Nigeria will be a better country if justice and the fear of God are upheld by both the government and the governed.

We reiterate our call to all Christians to continue praying for peace and unity for our Fatherland and the grace to do the right things for our leaders.

It is well with Nigeria in Jesus’ Name.
Thank you.

Signed
Pastor Adebayo Oladeji
Special Assistant (Media&Communications) to the CAN President, His Eminence, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle.
28 May, 2018

Nigeria is collapsing under your watch: - HURIWA to Buhari *Condemns attack on catholic seminary in Taraba:

 “The failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately reorganize his failed and toxic internal security team made up totally of Hausa/Fulani Moslems who have failed to effectively check the unprecedented bloody attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen targeting farmers and Christians in the North, signposts the rapid collapse of Nigeria under the direct watch of President Muhammadu Buhari. This therefore calls for immediate soul searching on the part of President Muhammadu Buhari so he can salvage what is left of a rapidly collapsing Nigerian nation State. The nation is now more than ever so divided alongside Ethno-religious configurations even as it has become a stark reality that some persons are by the distorted and illegal discriminatory policies of government, made to perceive themselves as second class citizens who are not trustworthy enough in the opinion of President Muhammadu Buhari to hold such strategic national security positions now exclusively and unconstitutional occupied by Nigerians of same religious and Ethnicity with President Muhammadu Buhari. We are simply deceiving ourselves by celebrating democracy day when Nigerians in their thousands have been gruesomely despatched to the great World beyond by armed Fulani herdsmen who are being protected by the powers that be currently in Nigeria”.

Making this observation is the foremost Non-governmental and Civil rights group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) which has also condemned the attack today at the minor catholic seminary in Jalingo, Taraba state leading to the fatal injury of several clergies and students.

HURIWA said the attack by armed Fulani herdsmen targeting the peaceful Catholic Church’s facilities and the shooting of the priests and students training for priesthood shows that the dimension of these attacks has switched from inter-ethnic terrorism to a full blown persecution and attacks of Christians of Northern origin. HURIWA wonders why the United Nations Security Council and the Authority of the Heads of States of the African Union are watching passively as a section of Nigerians seem to have been armed and motivated to slaughter other citizens which may snowball into a genocide of monumental scale soon. 

The Rights group affirmed that the attack at the seminary in Taraba State coming barely two weeks after two catholic priests and 17 worshippers were killed by armed Fulani herdsmen in Benue state shows an escalation of the terror activities which should necessitate the immediate declaration of Miyetti Allah cattle owners association as a terrorist group. HURIWA has asked the organized civil society community and the Faith based bodies to begin series of civil disobedience activities to compel an immediate change on the part of the Presidency to either stop the attacks, prosecute and sanction the mass murderers or resign within two weeks should these bandits and terrorists not stopped from carrying out the well-coordinated Ethnic and Religious cleansing and genocides. 

“For the avoidance of doubts, a clear nexus had since been established between the violent attackers and the leadership of the Miyetti Allah cattle owners Association in most parts of Nigeria. The case of Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Kaduna states is as clear as the sun light because the organized spate of attacks were unleashed as soon as this terror organization publicly threatened to frustrate the implementation of the anti-open grazing law in Benue State, or protested the theft of certain number of cows by the indigenous people who are mostly Christians and farmers".

"We have in the last three years asked the Muhammadu Buhari’s government to dismantle the nepotistic internal security team so as to compose a pan-Nigerian Internal Security team made up of officers from all parts of Nigeria and to declare Miyetti Allah Cattle Owners Association a terror organization, but President Buhari has refused. Now, most Southern Nigerians see the armed Fulani herdsmen as state sponsored terrorists”.

“We totally condemn the attack on the seminary in Taraba and most particularly, condemned the killing of over 30 people in a part of Zamfara state in North West of Nigeria. These attacks and killings show that Nigeria currently has no efficient leadership in the national security team and no amount of dollars granted these incompetent heads of security agencies can stop these attacks. We totally condemn the National Assembly for proposing to give more cash to the hierarchies of the security team who have in the lady three years failed to perform. No amount of cash can change a compromised and an incompetent officer to turn a new leaf. They must be dismissed and prosecuted for criminal negligence.”

“The only option open to President Buhari is to declare Miyetti Allah Cattle Owners Association as a terrorist group and to arrest, prosecute the leaders in the competent courts of law. The direct consequence of the continuous failure to act decisively, is that Nigeria will slide into total anarchy and chaos because Nigerians will not stand by and let armed Fulani slaughter all of them”.

HURIWA recalled that two Catholic priests were beaten, one shot in the leg when gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen attacked a minor seminary in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.

HURIWA recalled that during the attack which was said to have taken place on Monday morning, some students were injured and many cars destroyed even as the persons injured were said to be receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, it was not yet clear if people were killed.

HURIWA recalled that the Director of Caritas Nigeria, an agency of the Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, revealed this in a WhatsApp message to a correspondent of a national daily as follows: “Please Frs, pray for us. Our minor seminary in Jalingo has just been attacked by the Fulani, some students are injured, some cars destroyed, two priests beaten and one shot on the leg. They are currently receiving treatment at FMC.”

HURIWA said the group has already submitted a petition to the International Criminal court in The Hague Netherlands but expressed consternation that the global crimes forum seems to be too slow to bring perpetrators to justice just as it stated that it will send further evidence of crimes against humanity committed by armed Fulani herdsmen under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari to the World's crime court today.

African parliaments must stand up to defend democratic institutions, Dogara:

Speaker of the House of representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara has stated that parliaments are the hope of saving the people from dictatorship, even as he called on African countries to invest more in building democracy and it's institutions.

Dogara stated this when he played host to a parliamentary delegation from Liberia, undertaking a study tour in Nigeria, comprising of  members of Joint Committee on Public Accounts, Expenditure  and Audit, led by Sen. Henry Yallah

.

He said for democracy to be solid and sound, the institutions must be strong, as their failure would always be blamed on the parliaments who fail to rise up in their defence.

"Democracy as they say is not something that you gain from the ballot box, as a matter of fact; the ballot box sometimes has produced some enemies of democracy, those who have completely discarded the tenets of democracy".

"So we have to invest more in building democracy and democratic institutions. Where Institutions are strong; democracy itself will be made strong. And to be very candid, Parliament are the hope of saving the people from dictatorships. Where democracies fail; it is common place to blame it on Parliament, it becomes the fault of Members of Parliament who are not willing to stand up to principles and be defenders of those democratic Institutions".

The speaker who decried the delicate nature of democratic institutions all over the world, advocated for the establishment of a body that will be vested with the responsibility of defending democracy against dictatorship.

"Democracies all over the World are very fragile and that includes even democracies in advanced countries that we regard to have advanced democracies. Even in the United States we are beginning to see that there is the fight to keep the loyalty with the people rather than to any form of democratic malfunction. Even things that we thought were completely impossible to happen in advanced democracies, we are beginning to see them, like breaches. That therefore tells us that we even need to institute a body that may be known as the defenders of democracy, I don't know how we can go about that, I'm just thinking loudly about some of these issues. But to be candid, even though it is not the best form of government, but this is the best that is known to man. Anybody who doubts this can try dictatorship. Those who have lived in a dictatorship will tell you how bad it is. Where the will of an individual is the Law, as a matter of fact you don't even need the Parliament, in which case all of us will be jobless as it is just the will of an individual that is the Law. It is the will of the individual that is argued out in the courts. 

The Speaker who said a performing budget is also needed to sustain democracy and achieve stability opined that to win citizens' confidence, government must deliver to the people's yearnings and expectations, especially in terms of security and welfare.

“A performing budget is needed to sustain even the very idea of the democracy itself,  because it has to be a government that delivers to the people in terms of expectations, in terms of security and welfare. When you have few people mismanage the resources belonging to Government; the end result will be that the expectations of the people will be cut off: No quality service, welfare and that obviously will result in distress, and we have seen this distress manifest in so many African countries where the entire process of expenditure, transparency and accountability is a bit opaque".

The Speaker took time to explain to the visiting MPs, the workings of Public Accounts Committee in the country.

“In Nigeria; Public Accounts is a Committee that is headed by a Member of the opposition, we do not give it to a member of the ruling party, obviously the reason is on account of transparency. It deals with the task of over-sighting expenditure, so we can't have the same members in charge of over-sighting the way expenditures are made. If that were to be the case, you can't run away from the incidence of conflict of interest. As it is one of the critical requirements and center pillar of our jurisprudence and justice must not only be done, but manifestly seen to be done. So when you have the people of the same political party investigating themselves, no matter how fair-minded they are, there is no way a reasonable person sitting outside there will say they have done justice in that manner. So that is the foundation upon which our Public Accounts Committee operates and in most cases they are in tandem with the Auditor-General of the Federation which we are set to empower and to insulate using the Constitution Amendment exercise which we are currently embarking on".

Speaking further, Dogara highlighted some of the processes followed by the committee to achieve results in its mandate and assignment.

"It encompasses the operation of all agencies, including the National Assembly, and the reports are submitted to the Public Accounts Committee of the House. Once they receive the reports from the Auditor-General; they embark on thorough investigation of the figures, as I said before this is to ensure transparency. I know that it is so in fledgling democracies like ours and that will be the case in your democracy which is much younger than ours, we also need transparency, we need to ensure that we have entrusted resources and allocations with integrity. But where you see that resources are better managed and allocations are fairly done across board; you'll see that there'll be some elements of stability in those countries". 

“I once again want to welcome you and charge you that corruption itself is not something that can be totally exterminated. Experience has shown that in even better democracies of more advanced countries so to speak, it is difficult to totally eradicate corruption. But experience has also shown that we can tame it by taking deliberate actions like we are doing now on how to combat it. I believe that as you come across the operatives of the E.F.C.C in Nigeria and indeed the Auditor General and so many other experts who have been lined up to talk to you; you will learn a lot as to how we have attempted, I will say attempted as we are still in the process of dealing with the problem. But you'll come across challenges and I hope that you will use our own experience to learn, you don't have to wait to learn by your own experience. You can build on our own experience and examine the pitfalls so that you can build on the strengths and weaknesses of our own Laws, so that you can better build your own Laws that will better serve the interests of the people of Liberia and the wider ECOWAS community. So we are Members of the same community, you are always welcome to Nigeria, our doors as a Parliament are always open to provide assistance and to see that you are up to speed with some of these reforms that we are trying to advance even in Nigeria".

Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Chairman of Liberian Parliament's joint Committee on Public Accounts, Expenditure and Audit, Sen. Henry Yallah told the Speaker that they were in Nigeria on a study tour with the aim of building their capacity as a young democracy.

IDP’s rape report: Stop living in denial:- HURIWA tells F.G

Throwing its advocacy weight behind the recent extensive investigation by Amnesty International which uncovered widespread sexual violation and exploitation of internally displaced girls in the North East by the military, the Rights group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked government to stop living in shameful denial but to thoroughly investigate the massive allegations and punish offenders.

HURIWA wondered why Nigeria of the 21st century has institutionally continued to stick to old fashion obstinacy and empty deceits heavily embellished with false national pride instead of adopting and complying to World standards as practiced in all other nations belonging and subscribing to the time tested and time honoured global human rights laws and humanitarian mechanisms of resolving proven cases of Human Rights breaches.

HURIWA said: “we are seriously worried that since 1979 or thereabout when some unruly soldiers stormed the then 'Kalakuta Republic' shrine of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti in Ojualegba Lagos State and slaughtered members of the audience and the mother of the musician, up until the recent extra-legal killings of hundreds of civilians belonging to the indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) and Shiites Islamic movement, the Nigeria Army has refused to change and embrace the demands of professionalism to investigate damaging allegations through uncompromising mechanisms and apportion sanctions to indicted operatives  appropriately in line with extant military and civilian laws against those who have committed grave human rights violations.”

In a statement made against the backdrop of the recent report by the United Kingdom founded international non-governmental organization- Amnesty International, indicting soldiers for compelling girls and women in the internally displaced persons’ camps in the North East of Nigeria to give them sexual gratifications in exchange for the relief materials donated by the federal government and international non-governmental bodies, HURIWA lamented that both the Civil and Military authorities have rejected the findings even before any form of government organized investigations are carried out.

The National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said HURIWA is worried that the fundamental right to dignity of the human persons as constitutionally guaranteed, are wantonly thrown away to the dogs by the current Nigerian government in its irrational and fallacious bid to extend a clean bill of health to the military institution as if the military is made up of Angels who are infallible.

The Rights group reminded Nigeria this latest report of sexual abuses of innocent but displaced girls and women is the second to have been written by foreign Non-Governmental organizations, the first been the report on a wider scale done last year by the New York based Human Rights Watch just as it pleaded with government to stop disgracing Nigeria and do the needful.

“We hereby ask president Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to set up strong independent panels to be made up of Nigerians of unimpeachable characters to conduct broad based investigations including field interviews under conditions of strict confidentiality to uncover the veracity of these allegations made by Amnesty International based on its properly and scientifically conducted investigations and interviews with victims of these abuses who are Nigerian citizens with rights just like their indicted abusers whom this government has already given blanket absolution without probing the extensively damaging cases of sexual molestations with far reaching emotional and psychological implications for the victims if not comprehensively and transparently redressed.”

“On the part of the Nigerian Army, may we plead with the hierarchy to leave a legacy for the next generations by instituting a transformative world view of the Nigerian Army as a force that complies totally to global best practices and enforces strict adherence to the rule of law and respect for the fundamental human rights of all citizens.”

“Amnesty International wishes Nigeria well and is not affiliated to any political parties. Why the heightened state of animosity and sponsored campaign of calumny by street urchins as sponsored by the current federal administration? The government officials must live by their constitutional oaths of office to uphold all the necessary human rights safeguards and laws in Nigeria.”

Media reports quoted by HURIWA, indicated that Women and girls who have fled terrorist group Boko Haram are being raped by Nigerian soldiers, starved and forced to exchange food for sex, according to claims in a new report by human rights group Amnesty International.

HURIWA recalled that thousands of these women have died because of lack of food in camps for internally displaced people in Nigeria's northeast after they were rescued from Boko Haram, Amnesty says.

HURIWA said that in the report titled "They betrayed us," it is alleged that five women said they were raped by soldiers in late 2015 and early 2016 in a displacement camp in Bama, Borno state.
Regrettably, HURIWA recalled that the Nigerian army spokesman John Agim denied the allegations in the Amnesty report, branding them "propaganda."

HURIWA quoted the Defence Spokesman as saying the army hasn't been deployed to displacement camps, which he said are run by the police, local vigilante groups and NGOs. "I wonder where Amnesty interviewed women who said they saw soldiers in these camps hoarding food and raping women?" Agim asked.

HURIWA said the military's media chief Mr. Agim accused the human rights group of republishing claims that had been investigated by the Nigerian government and had been found to be false.
HURIWA recalled that General At in had stated that: "Amnesty wrote the same allegations in a report in 2015 and it was investigated then and found not to be true. Why are they presenting them in 2018 after investigations? It is all propaganda and when they continue to propagate these reports, it assumes the property of truth when its not refuted," Agim told CNN.

HURIWA recalled that the Army spokesperson affirmed also that "Amnesty does not want our war against terrorism to finish; the Nigerian military maintains this position," he said. "Their reports on human right violations is to stop the selling of weapons to the Nigerian military by the American government and others and that approach is not working. The Nigerian army just rescued 1,000 Boko Haram captives, that is a good development, why is it not reflected in the report if they are being fair?" Agim added, in a media report seen by HURIWA.

NEMA Swims in bad tides By Emmanuel Onwubiko

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is currently swimming in the tides of controversy around the issues of corruption, managerial incompetence, contract and procurement misconducts among a litany of other matters which have combined to cripple the motivation of a lot of the staff.

These avalanche of crises afflicting NEMA started when President Muhammadu Buhari appointed a career politician to head this most strategic intervention agency and ever since the Yobe politician Alhaji Mustapha Mahaja arrived NEMA, it has been every day one trouble.

It can even be concluded that this agency of government established for the purposes of embarking on emergency rescue and remedial processes is itself in a very urgent need of emergency redemption.
From official account found in the website of the agency yesterday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established via Act 12 as amended by Act 50 of 1999, to manage disasters in Nigeria. It has been tackling disaster related issues through the establishment of concrete structures.

The Mission is; To coordinate resource towards efficient and effective disaster prevention, preparation, mitigation and response in Nigeria.

The Vision is; To build a culture of preparedness, prevention, response and community resilience to disaster in Nigeria.

The Act vested the authority of managing disasters in Nigeria in NEMA.
According to the enabling law; the Agency shall among the other things,
(a) Formulate policy on all activities relating to the disaster management in Nigeria and co-ordinate the plans and programmes for efficient and effect response to disasters at national level; (b) Monitor the state of preparedness of all.

Sadly, since he arrived from the political terrain to assume the mantle of leadership of this important agency of government, this usually pro-active office has become a theater of war between the new Director General and some “unlucky” directors whom he has accused of a range of financial misappropriations running into billions. These directors have in turn accused the director general of these same serial contracts procurements’' crimes and have insisted that the man was simply on a vendetta for no known reason. It is feared that the new director general may have spoilt for a fight to muddy up the records of those directors who are pioneer staff just so he can bring in his own boys. This pattern is what obtains in most agencies whereby the current set of power workers have appointed their cronies.

For the first time since NEMA was created, the staff embarked on industrial action over failure of the current Director General to meet up with their basic financial obligation.

The news emanating from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have never being palatable even as productivity within the agency has dramatically nosedived because of artificially induced paucity of operational fund to power some of the very pressing activities.

The director general has also been accused of over stepping his powers by arbitrarily suspending serving directors without recourse to the laws governing affairs of civil servants.

Also, two institutions one of which is a whole arm of government and the other an agency under the Executive arm of government namely, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the National Assembly have feasted on some of these controversies brewing within the National Emergency Management Agency in such a way that has reduced the agency to a mere theatre of war.

This is because, while the Federal House of Representatives thinks the Director General has questions to answer regarding monumental corruption the EFCC on the other hand is seen as the attack dog being deployed to witch-hunt the directors who have fallen out of favour for a reason that is not easily known.

The Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo is the chairman of the head of governors of NEMA and is therefore expected to provide effective oversight to the running of the National Emergency Management Agency.

The Vice president is a known political godfather of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Alhaji Ibrahim Magu.

Yemi Osinbanjo is known to have thrown his weight behind Ibrahim Magu when the senate over ruled his fitness to head the anti-graft body.

Some observers are therefore seeing the clamp down on the six directors of NEMA by EFCC as a voice of Jacob but the body of Esau meaning that the anti-graft czar may have sided with the Vice President to shift the burden of the blame for the alleged corruption on the suspended staff and not the politically appointed director general of NEMA who is affiliated to the Vice President and is said to be doing his bidding.

There are also insinuations that if indeed the director general may have committed the said financial infractions, it follows therefore that the Vice President may have some explanation to do concerning why those alleged crimes happened. The Federal House of Representatives reportedly invited the Vice President over these issues.

What is however disturbing is that despite the cacophony of controversy dogging NEMA, neither the president nor the vice president made any known moves to call the director general to order or to completely re-organize the management of that agency so a real competent manager is appointed to head that agency.

If truth must be told, NEMA is such a vital organ of government that must not be used as avenue to settle political sons but a place whereby only the best is good enough to head the agency.
However, whilst we thank the benevolence of nature for not unleashing a major disaster which will definitely not be managed effectively by a highly disorganized National Emergency Management Agency, the problems tearing that place apart seems far from over.

The director general appeared before the House of Representatives and was quoted as having admitted committing procurement crime but the mystery is that it seems the government is so overwhelmed by corruption and financial crimes’ allegations that it does not know what next to do to sanitize the rotten house that is being presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engineer Mustapha Maihaja, had admitted before the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, which is investigating breach of public trust in the agency that the agency did not comply with the provisions of NEMA establishment Act which mandates it to liaise with its state counterparts during distribution of relief materials.

Speaking at the resumed sitting of the committee in the National Assembly, the DG made the admittance while responding to questions by lawmakers on the failure of the agency to distribute relief materials to the affected areas in the North East.

The hearing of the day was focused on the distribution of relief materials or lack of it, and the N8 billion Emergency Food Intervention Programme in the five states in the North East region: Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa and Bauchi States.

It also took testimonies from the officials of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on the status of the companies that were awarded the contracts for the implementation of the emergency food intervention programme.

Representatives of governments of Gombe, Yobe, Bauchi and Taraba states had made testimonies before the committee where they disclosed that NEMA did not involve the state government or the state emergency agencies when the commenced the distribution of items. They also added that they could not ascertain whether the items were distributed by NEMA according to the claim of the DG because of their non-involvement in the whole arrangement.

Media reports said all of the states except Bauchi State said they did not receive any letter from NEMA about the food distribution to internally displaced persons in their states, while Gombe state government was emphatic that there are no IDP camps in the state, and as such, it did not receive any relief materials from the agency.

The committee also reportedly unraveled a forged clearance certificate presented by Three Brothers Rice Mill Ltd. The representative of ITF at the hearing had informed the lawmakers that the clearance purportedly issued by ITF was not from his office as it bears a wrong address, signature and carries his name, though he was not the one who signed it.

Officials of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)and the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC), while making presentations on the companies (Three Brothers Rice Mill Nigeria Ltd and Olam Nigeria Ltd) engaged by NEMA to carry out the N8 billion Food Intervention Programme, informed the committee that they did not fully meet all the requirements for qualification for government contracts.

Responding, NEMA DG, Engr. Mustapha said the exigency of the situation required the agency to make emergency procurements. He also faulted Yobe State statement that NEMA did not make any contact with the state on the distribution and presented a letter of communicated to the committee where the state acknowledged correspondence from them.

The contract awarded to Olam Nigeria Ltd for 2.4 billion naira and the 600million to 3 Brothers Rice Ltd for supply of rice for the emergency food intervention programme in the North East, he stated, was made at the presidential level and the contractors were selected because they had the capacity to deliver in the huge quantity that was needed.

Media reports stated that the chairman of the committee, Ali Isa J.C, warned against misrepresentation of the proceedings of the committee. He said some news reports were deliberately trying to mislead the public and create an impression that the National Assembly is at war with the vice president.

He said, “The House believes we are working with the executive, especially when it comes to fighting corruption and getting value for money. “

The chairman also declared that the House cannot be intimidated into suspending the investigation. He said they will not be distracted to shift focus from probing the N5.9 billion and N3.1 billion Emergency Food Intervention Programme, the N1.6 billion funds for 16 states flood relief and another N1.6 billion for Libya returnees.

The committee summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and all companies involved in the procurement of the N5.1 emergency food in the North East.

It also directed NEMA DG to bring all communication, including minutes of meetings, related to the selection of the companies that got the contracts.

Again, as the Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness resumes its investigation into breach of trust by the National Emergency Agency (NEMA), efforts by the lawmakers to track the source of the directive to disburse over N8 billion to some companies to supply grains to internally displaced persons in the North East was truncated after the accountant general appealed to the House not to disclose contents of the documents required because they are classified as security information.
A press statement emanating from the House of Representatives said NEMA could not make any presentation at the hearing due to the failure of its director general, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja, to appear for the second time in a row.

The director of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr. Kayode Fagbemi, who was again mandated to represent him was rejected by the representatives but asked to stay through the proceedings as an observer.

The committee, in the hearing that held at the National Assembly, had earlier interrogated three of the companies that benefitted from the emergency food programme and the food security programme on the basis of the release of the funds to them. All but one of the companies, namely BUA, Three Brothers Rice Mill, Dangote could not tell the committee exactly what office the contract for their supply of grains emanated from.

Only Olam stated that while it did not apply to NEMA for the contract to supply food to the North East, or mop up grains for off season use, it was granted the job the agency and received payment from the office, though it has an outstanding of N274 million.

However, one of the documents before the committee revealed that the disbursement, which all companies said was not a loan facility, came from the Central Bank of Nigeria as a public/private partnership arrangement. The document showed that it was supposed to be a loan facility to the beneficiary companies.

They also queried the permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry on another document which showed that the authorization to the Central Bank of Nigeria to pay the companies was issued by his office.
In his presentation earlier, the representative of BUA could not tell the committee the agency that awarded the contract to his company, and also said he does not know if there was an award letter or agreement between the federal government and his company in relation to the contract to supply soya beans. This was after he had earlier submitted that there was no contract or agreement to that effect.
While adding that all grains have been given to NEMA, he added that BUA did not apply to CBN for the contract.

On its part, Olam’s vice president (Rice), Mr. Reggie George stated again that it did not bid for the N2.4 billion naira contract it got but was informed by the Ministry Agriculture to send an invoice to the ministry of Finance, after a Rice Processors of Nigeria meeting. He also added that there was no advertisement or bidding process that the company responded to or participated in.

Responding to enquiries by the lawmakers, the Permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance, disclosed that there was no contractual agreement, just an instruction from the office of the Accountant General to pay N5.8 billion to some companies, which they complied with.
Office of the accountant general, however, said it is not aware of any dealings of the contract.
The controversy surrounding the legal status of the Three Brothers Rice Mill continued at the hearing as documents related to the company showed three in figure (4) instead of in words as the company’s representatives claimed was the correct name.

The Corporate Affairs Commission and other relevant agencies were directed by the committee to submit all documents related to the company in either of the 2 names in the next hearing on Thursday, which is expected to be the last.

The house of NEMA indeed stinks of corruption and managerial incompetence requiring a transparent clean up with a clean broom untainted by partisan politics.

Emmanuel Onwubiko heads the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and blogs @ www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www.huriwanigeria.com; www.huriwa@blogspot.com.

Stop using government officials as election campaigners:- HURIWA to Buhari *Condemns EFCC's acting chair for political partisanship.

A prominent pro-democracy and Non-Governmental organization – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the involvement in the year 2019 election campaign of the incumbent president by his appointees.

Similarly, the Rights group has expressed consternation that the Independent National Electoral Commission that ought to be truly independent has refused to publicly rebuke the open partisanship of some top officials of the Federal government even when their activities are bankrolled from the tax payers’ treasury.

HURIWA warned that should the current trend whereby serving federal government officials are allowed to be deeply involved in partisan politics even whilst holding to non-elective publicly funded offices, allowed to continue, then it may be concluded that the year 2019 election may have been rigged even before the balloting.

Wondering why officials who ought to operate as strictly professional heads of such sensitive bodies like the Nigerian customs service; Nigerian Immigration Service; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Voice of Nigeria (VON) and Cabinet level officials such as Ministers of transport; Communications and Solid Minerals, are busy campaigning for the incumbent president’s re-election bid of 2019 just as public fund are deployed for such partisan activities.

Speaking specifically on the appearance on television of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wearing 2019 campaign lapel pin of president Buhari, the Right group said that the unwise and politically tainted action of Ibrahim Magu in adorning the campaign badge of All Progressive Congress has completely rubbished the neutrality of his headship of the anti-graft campaign panel and wondered why he hasn't been booted out.

HURIWA said it was too risky to allow the current comptrollers General of customs and Immigration services to remain as heads of those strategic internal security bodies when they have openly displayed their membership of campaign platform of the incumbent president and the ruling party just as the group said their stay in office till the conduct of next year’s poll will jeopardize the security of the election. HURIWA said it was shocked that even the Comptroller General of Nigerian Immigration Service Who is still in service was sighted at an All progressives congress stakeholders meetings in Kaduna and is rumoured to be nursing a Senatorial ambition and yet almost 6 months after these sightings, the politically tainted Comptroller General of Immigration is still occupying public office whilst nurturing his political ambitions.

“It is notorious knowledge that the customs and immigration department controls the inflow of persons and materials into Nigeria. It is dangerous to allow the duo of current holders of the top offices of both agencies to continue in offices in this campaign year and next election year following previously recorded cases of importation of both illegal aliens as voters and the uncontrollable inflow of small arms and sophisticated weapons. The two officials are no longer neutral.”

HURIWA in the media statement signed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Director Miss Zainab Yusuf has therefore charged president Buhari as someone who professes his love for a free and fair elections, to relieve all those biased and politically affiliated federal government officials of their important jobs and replace them with statesmen/women and patriots with no political affiliations.

“How can we have top security officials of government whose loyalty is to a political party and we expect a free, fair, transparent and peaceful poll in which their principal is actively interested in retaining office beyond the first term? If these politically compromised heads of customs, immigration and other cabinet level office holders already campaigning are not sacked, then public fund could be diverted to political campaigns.”

HURIWA recalled that a group called the Buhari Support Organization (BSO) led by the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col Hamid Ali, on Tuesday visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.

HURIWA recalled that during the visit, the President addressed issues regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds on projects by past governments.

HURIWA quoted Buhari as specifically criticized a former president (whose name he didn’t mention) for spending billions of dollars on power projects in the country with no results.

HURIWA recalled that the President, said that one of the former Heads of State had bragged that he spent 16 billion dollars on power whereas there wasn’t anything to show for it.

He the President had used the occasion of the visit of the Vusyoms comptroller heading Buhari Support Organization to alleged that the perpetrators lacked imagination and plans for Nigeria’s development and therefore, urged citizens to remain vigilant and ensure that only “people of conscience are in-charge of governance at all levels”, even as the 2019 general elections draw near.

HURIWA has therefore accused the current government of converting government agencies and officials as campaigners for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 which the group said is totally unconstitutional and illegal to deploy public fund and working hours to organize political campaigns.

ARMY/POLICE and Unending Internal wars By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Nigeria no doubt has experimented with constitutional democracy as our preferred system of government for two decades and still counting. Democracy, without doubts remains the best form of government because it has inbuilt mechanisms for self-corrections. Democracy is built on the plank of checks and balances meaning that all citizens are equal before the law. Also, institutions are created and governed by the Rule of law.

However, Nigeria has a peculiar history of incessant internal squabbles amongst officials and operatives of the institutions created by law to drive the wheel of constitutional democracy. Some of these inter-agency struggle for supremacy amounts to grave threats to national security interest of Nigeria as a corporate entity. 

Nigeria seems to be facing challenges with enforcement of service discipline and professionalism between and amongst the members of the different segments of the armed security services.

The most fundamental challenge that threatens professionalism in the armed security services is the seemingly superiority conflicts between the different security agencies which in most cases boils out to an all-out street battles resulting in casualties and the destruction of government and private property. To make matters worst, the regime of impunity that has been institutionalized makes it impossible to bring these culprits to book. 

Take for instance, since last year; there have been over two dozen conflicts between the military and the police on one hand, the Police and the Civil Defence Corp, and even amongst the economic and financial crimes commission versus the combined forces of the Directorate of state security services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on the other hand. These conflicts are clearly avoidable if the office of the national security Adviser is raised to a cabinet level appointment. Then again, there are institutions created by statues to guide against these acts of gross indiscipline by security operatives. Sadly, these bodies that should control these operatives are too weak to effectively discharge their mandates.

In one of such conflicts of the last mentioned security agencies, there were reported exchanges of gun-fire even as members of the public were reportedly caught unawares and were made to scamper for safety. 

On a smaller scale, the military operatives and the police have been known to have engaged in several street’s battles which in many of these instances, have led to the invasions of police facilities by the soldiers and the resultant destruction of public property. 

The sad thing about this ugly scenario is that there is an absence of effective corrective mechanisms to bring the culprits to book and on the part of the hierarchies of the armed forces; there are no known effective remedial mechanisms or measures put in place to deter the occurrence of such disgraceful conducts by their operatives. But why is the court marshal mechanisms not been put into use to sanction offenders? Why is the orderly room trials of the police and the police service commission not been used to check the excesses of these misbehaving policemen? 

I took time to do just a less stressful research, and came out with a huge body of knowledge regarding the dozens of times that such disgraceful inter-agency street scuffles have happened in the last twelve calendar months as captured by the popular media of mass communication. However, the online and social media have over four dozens of such shows of shame.

Last year April, there was one of the ugliest cases of conflicts between the police and soldiers over a girlfriend in Damaturu, Yobe state which led to the death of five persons.

As recorded by the media, the clash between soldiers and policemen over a girlfriend left four mobile police officers and one soldier dead in Damaturu, Yobe State capital, with several others injured.

Among the wounded mobile police officer is Buba Dauda, the Mobile Commander in Yobe State, whose abduction by the soldiers in the wee hours triggered the face-off between the two security agencies.

It was gathered from sources that the clash resulted from a misunderstanding that erupted between a serving Army Captain and some mobile policemen over a girlfriend the military officer allegedly snatched from a mobile policeman.

The situation did not go down well with the policeman, who mobilized his colleagues to beat the Captain to comatose.

On hearing what happened to their colleague, some soldiers stormed the residence of the police team’s boss in the area in two patrol vans and took him to an unknown destination.”

“On December 29^th 2017, a group of newly trained army recruits of Ekiti State origin clashed with police officers in Ado-Ekiti, following disagreements over what was believed to be extortion of motorists by the soldiers.

In the process, the soldiers beat up and stabbed a police corporal, Abdulkadir Yakub, who had challenged their illegal activity at the Fajuyi Roundabout.

A witness said Mr. Yakub, a traffic police officer posted at the roundabout, was attacked after he challenged the soldiers for extorting money from motorists and causing a traffic gridlock.

Mr. Yakub reportedly sustained deep cuts in the head and buttocks, as he was said to have been stabbed by one of the recruits.

Witnesses said the young soldiers, who were about 17 in number, were returning from the governor’s office after a courtesy visit to Governor Ayodele Fayose when they stopped at the roundabout and started extorting motorists.

Another police corporal, Monday Agom, who paired Mr. Yakub at the post, recalled that the incident occurred at about 2.00 p.m., after Mr. Yakub pleaded with the soldiers not to cause a traffic gridlock by their activity at the roundabout.

“One of the soldiers stopped a man in mufti who happened to be a policeman right in his car and demanded the car key, while Yakub was trying to pass him to allow for the next person in line, so as to free traffic which was already building up,” Mr. Agom explained.

“Yakub then explained to him (the attacker) that the man he stopped is a police officer and that he should allow him to go as stopping him there would cause hold-up.

“This statement infuriated the soldier who immediately slapped Yakub, before bringing out a jack-knife with which he started cutting him at several parts of the body.

“I then joined other people to rescue Yakub from the soldier, who was shouting ‘I will kill you, idiot; I will kill you, idiot.”

He added that other soldiers also joined in punching Yakub who was already dripping with blood.

The situation degenerated when mobile police officers whose station was close to the scene, mobilized themselves and attacked the soldiers in reprisal.”

Fast forward to March this year when a major fracas broke out amongst Nigerian law enforcement agencies after an attempt to seal a Road Safety office went awry, sobsays reporters.

It was learnt that the violence broke out after soldiers and policemen attached to The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) tried to serve the Road Safety office in Wuse Zone 7 a violation notice.

The police officers and soldiers attached to the AEBP officials allegedly assaulted a female Road Safety marshal in the process, leading to confrontation.

The AEPB task force members denied assaulting the Road Safety personnel, saying they were resisted from sealing the Road Safety office as ordered by a magistrate’s court.

During the fight, a soldier was reportedly wounded and a civilian staff of the AEPB was “taken hostage” by the Road Safety marshals.

In turn, soldiers and police officers who were part of the AEPB team seized a Road Safety officer.

In the same March of this year, details emerged of how a plain clothed policeman, Imomoh slumped and died during a clash with a team of soldiers drafted from the 19 Battalion, Koko, to maintain peace at a burial ceremony.

According to the media, the incident happened at the burial reception in honour of a 111-years-old woman (name withheld) at Boboroku community of Jesse in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State.

The report revealed that the event turned awry when youths of the community clashed with a team of soldiers drafted from the 19 Battalion, Koko, to maintain peace.

The rowdiness reportedly started at the time the food and drink was being shared at the party and in the process some of the youth allegedly made attempts to disarm two soldiers, who had tried to restore orderliness.

One person was reportedly shot on the leg as others sustained various degrees of injuries in the melee that ensued, while the windscreen and windows of at least five cars, including one Hilux belonging to the soldiers, were also destroyed by the youths who went berserk over the incident.”

On May 16^th this year, there was commotion along Ada George Road in Port Harcourt as soldiers sacked the Rumukpakani Police Station, allegedly over the killing of their colleague by a policeman.

The murdered soldier, who was in mufti, was said to have been shot near the Police station by one of the policemen on duty. It was gathered that the development forced a group of angry soldiers to storm the Police station and arrested the Divisional Police Officer and the murder suspect.

This same year, the EFCC reportedly attempted to arrest the immediate past Director General of the Department of state services (DSS) but the combined forces of the DSS and NIA stopped the armed security forces from the EFCC from effecting the arrest.

Last week, there was a report of soldiers and police men fighting somewhere in Lagos over what cannot easily be deciphered and was circulated on the social media, just as this melee caused considerable panic amongst civilians.

The question to ask is why have all the relevant disciplinary measures and institutions put in place to check such acts of indiscipline chosen to watch as these armed operatives engage each other in public fisticuffs resulting in violent deaths.

The Nigeria constitution has very clearly spelt out the functions of each of the segments of the security forces even as both the hierarchies of the armed forces and the police service commission have been empowered to maintain service discipline and instill professional excellence amongst the men and women that are recruited into the military and police.

Besides the issue of violation of codes of conducts by these armed men who engage in street wars, there is also the very important issue of putting the lives of civilians at risks by their misbehaviours.

These brazen acts of indiscipline goes contrary to the essence of the military in modern nations and most especially in constitutional democracies such as Nigeria.

General Chris Olukolade, is a Nigerian military officer who penned a beautiful book titled: “Issues in the mobilization of public support for military operations in Nigeria”, and in the earliest chapter, this powerful writer stated the underling essence of setting up military institution in Nigeria.

“The military or armed forces as a concept refers to the organization of professional men and women who having been inspired to sacrifice their lives in defence of their fatherland, and trained, equipped and motivated to perform the constitutional duty of national defence". 

This organization, According to him, which is usually made up of an army, navy, and air force is bound together by the feeling of esprit de corps, discipline, unparalleled patriotism, professionalism and hierarchical command and control among others. 

He noted that the military organization is usually in charge of external security and differs from other armed organizations in society which are mainly in charge of internal security such as the Police, Civil Defence, Immigration, Customs and Prisons.

On his own part, the late director of legal services of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General T.E.C Chiefe (rtd) ph.D, reminded the military that they are governed by laws and must comply or else the full weight of the law should be applied to offenders.

His words: “It has also been argued by Aycock and Wurfel that just as civil and criminal law seeks to restrict and regulate behavior so that people can live together in peace and tranquility, military law has a similar and yet more positive purpose". 

"They state that military law as of necessity is to promote good order, high morale and discipline in the military, for the accomplishment of the military mission. It has also been emphasized that the principal purposes of military law must be to serve the interests of the particular armed forces within which it applies and to strengthen the goals, aspirations, morals and ethical values of that military and by extension the nation to which that military belongs.”

Nigeria needs to take measures to enforce professionalism and discipline amongst the operatives of the armed security forces. We must dismantle the impunity which allows for offenders embedded in the military and Police to walk scot-free after engaging in disgraceful street wars over some egotistic issues unrelated to their mandates. Those who are trained and armed by the benevolence of the tax payers should not become a threat to our national security. This is not too much to demand from the military and Police. 

Emmanuel Onwubiko heads the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria and blogs@www.emmanuelonwubiko;  www.huriwanigeria.com; www.hiriea.blogspot.com.

Army’s Report on Gen. Danjuma’s allegation is whishy-washy; dubiously self-serving:- says HURIWA:

A prominent Civil Rights body – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has faulted as dubiously self-serving; subjective; whishywashy and pre-determined the report granting clean bill of health to the Army by a military panel which purportedly investigated the claims made by a former chief of Army Staff General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd) that the Army was colluding with armed hoodlums unleashing bloody violence.

The Rights group says the report which was released by the Army authority in which the allegations made by General Danjuma was dismissed as untrue, cannot pass the test of time because it was made by a panel largely composed by the same military officers and their cronies masquerading as civil society stakeholders who in any event are the accused and friends of the accused  in the allegations of collusion with armed hoodlums.

The Rights group said it was incredible that the Army’s authority had to set up such a kangoroo panel after the media Director of the Defence Headquarters has already dismissed General Danjuma’s allegations. The group said the Army shut itself on the leg when the Defence Spokesman had dismissed General Danjuma's allegations just as the Rights group said the setting up of the panel was basically a product of an afterthought which came about by the huge body of constructive criticisms of the military in the aftermath of the allegations of collusion with armed Fulani terrorists by the military as made by no other ordinary person but General TY Danjuma who is one of the few remaining pioneer military officers of post-independence Nigeria. The group said it was unfortunate and disappointing that the Army could waste money and resources to procure the same pre-determined conclusions that had already been made public by the Directorate of media and public Relations in the Defence Headquarters.

Besides, HURIWA said the Investigative panel was not independent and the members simply executed a choreographed plot aimed at providing a pre-determined clean bill of health that could patch up any bad publicity and damage to the corporate image of the military institution done by the allegations.

The Rights group has therefore asked the federal government of Nigeria to institute an independent body of investigators to conduct evidence-based findings and the investigative mechanisms must comply with best global practices including the identification, collection and documentation of available evidence with the strictest confidentiality and the security of the persons giving evidence guaranteed.

“We call on government to ensure that the membership of such an independent investigative team must be headed by a respected statesman/woman not below the rank of a serving justice of the supreme court of Nigeria, even as representatives of the security forces, credible, tested and trusted civil society platforms and experts in forensic investigations must become part of such a comprehensive, objective, science-based and thorough probe of the allegations of collusions in the killings by the Army.”

The Rights group which recently returned from a week long visits to the locations of armed Fulani attacks in Taraba state alongside six other non-governmental groups, insisted that only an independent body of investigators can be able to conduct a transparent, accountable, open and an objective investigations because the Army can’t be the prosecutor and the judge in its own case. There have been allegations of military collusions in the various attacks waged against different communities all over Nigeria by armed Fulani herdsmen or other freelance armed hoodlums.
"There were even allegations in Southern Kaduna and Delta State of persons alleging that “mysterious” helicopters dropped weapons to Fulani herdsmen.”

“We reject this pre-arranged report of the Army panel which as expected has done the official bidding of the current hierarchy of the military. We demand an independent probe panel because the military as an institution in the opinions of experts must respect and protect the people; must be professionally disciplined; must stick to the constitutional and ethical codes of conducts in internal military operations. The allegations of collusion must be thoroughly looked at because even from Zamfara state, the governor and a Senator had once accused the security forces of failing to act even after several hours of receiving actionable intelligence. These allegations are not just made by General Danjuma so it should not be a personality fight or a religious fight but must be qualitatively probed.”

HURIWA through the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko made her position clear at a press briefing against the backdrop of the report of the Army panel which purportedly discredited General Danjuma’s allegations of Army collusion in the series of blood cuddling attacks.

HURIWA recalled that the Nigerian Army at the weekend said allegations against it by retired Gen. T.Y Danjuma that it colluded with the militia in Taraba State and refused to protect the people were untrue.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made this known at a news conference in Abuja where he gave details of the findings of the 10-member panel the Army constituted to probe the allegations.

But Buratai, who was represented by Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, Chief of Military/Civil Affairs, said: “With respect to the statement by Lt.-Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, it is clear that the allegations were not true.
“There is a need to urge for caution on the part of the elder statesman in view of the security implication of such comments.’’

Buratai exonerated the army, saying that there was no collusion between it and bandits in Taraba as alleged by the former chief of army staff.
Rather, he said, there was “sustained media campaign to belittle Nigerian army and other security agencies’ operation in the state’’ without saying who was behind the campaign.

HURIWA has therefore called for property investigations by a wholly independent and credible body of investigators so an unassailable position can be determined through evidences and accounts by eye witnesses.

Stop persecuting Igbo Jews: - HURIWA tells Buhari: *Condemns abduction of Nnamdi Kanu’s brother by police:

Describing the action as a grave violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion, a civil rights body, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the arrest and prosecution of nine Jewish worshippers in the house of the “Missing” director of the now proscribed indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) in Umuahia, Abia State.

Besides, the Rights group has asked the police to release without further delay the younger brother of the missing IPOB’s director known as Prince Emmanuel Kanu or to charge him to the competent court of law if the police has any cogent charges against him. HURIWA warned against the unconstitutional practices of forced disappearances, hostage taking by security forces which have increasingly become the favourable tools of the extensively repressive security forces of Nigeria. 

Speaking specifically on the reported arrest and charging for terrorism of nine Jewish worshipers by the Nigerian state, HURIWA expressed consternation that the president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has continued with the ugly trends of crackdown against Nigerian citizens even after the president had assured president Donald Trump during a state visit recently that his government will address the damning charges of gross human right violations made by the American state department in the year 2017 human rights report on Nigeria. HURIWA cited Section 42-(1) and Section 38 -(1) of the Nigerian Constitution as clearly spelling out that such discriminatory behaviour of security forces against religious minority is antithetical to the constitution. 

HURIWA said the continuous crackdown of civilians in the South East of Nigeria for their suspected sympathy for self determination or for their religious choices are clear violations of the fundamental human rights provisions enshrined in all international humanitarian laws, the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, the International covenant on civil and political rights and the African charter on human and people's rights which Nigeria is a major signatory. "We wonder why Nigeria which was recently admitted as a key member of the United Nations Human Rights 

“We view this arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional arrest of ordinary worshipers in their place of religious worship and their kangaroo persecution for some nebulous charges of terrorism as provocative and primitive. We will write to the American president and the international community to alert the world of the ongoing grave violation of religious rights of some Igbo.”

Sections 42 and 38 of the Nigerian Constitution stated that“A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person- (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizen of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizen Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex religions or political opinions.” “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”

HURIWA recalled that nine of the Jewish worshipers arrested on Sunday by the Nigeria police at the home of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Monday were arraigned at an Umuahia Magistrate Court on charges of terrorism.

HURIWA recalled that before the accused persons were brought to court on a prisons truck, Jewish religion adherents had thronged the court premises, singing and dancing amid the heavy presence of the police.

HURIWA quoting the media stated that when the one count charge was read out to the nine accused persons they pleaded not guilty even as the charge sheet indicated that the alleged offence took place on May 13, 2018, in Afaaraukwu under the Umuahia Judicial Division of Abia State.

HURIWA recalled that Part of it reads: “In the course of carrying out your terrorist act and with intent to frighten ASP Justus Ogah of the Nigeria police and his team you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 12(a) of the Abia State prohibition of terrorism, kidnapping, hostage taking, use of offensive weapon or explosive and other threatening behaviour Law 1990.”

HURIWA also recalled that In his ruling, the presiding Senior Magistrate U.O. Egwu ordered that the nine accused persons be remanded in the Federal Prison, Umuahia, pending the next hearing which would come up on May 30, 2018 even as he further ordered that the case file be transferred to the State Director of Public Prosecution for further advice on the matter as the court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter.He wondered why the police chose to transfer the matter to his court when it should have transferred it to the appropriate court that has jurisdiction to hear the matter.

HURIWA has therefore decided to petition President Donald Trump of the United States through the United State's Ambassador to Nigeria to demand that the United States must prevail on the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration to comply with the HUMAN RIGHTS provisions of international, continental and municipal laws by allowing all citizens the rights to exercise their religious freedoms without let in hindrance.