“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.
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