INSECURITY: Resign now if: - HURIWA to president Buhari

The foremost civil Rights advocacy group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has expressed shock that the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian armed forces president Muhammadu Buhari has publicly accepted that he is overwhelmed by the deluge of security nightmares in Nigeria currently.

HURIWA reminded President Muhammadu Buhari that his primary duty which is the essence of government in the modern World in line with the constitutional provisions is to protect, to provide and to invest in the human development of the citizens and should he be overwhelmed by the deluge of security threats in the Country he has only one option which is for the betterment of the Nation state-RESIGN FORTHWITH.

In a media statement in reaction to the public affirmation by president Muhammadu Buhari that he is surprised by the rates of insecurity in Nigeria, the Rights group-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked president Buhari to resign forthwith if he has no practical solution to the widening spectres of insecurity and terrorists’ attacks because public wailing is not why he was elected. The group lamented that for five years now, the President has continued to assured Nigerians that his administration will deal ruthlessly with terrorists and armed bandits but he has failed to do so just as his administration has never prosecuted even a single mass murderer in what is now been regarded as partiality due to the fact that majority of the mass murderers arrested and paraded for these gruesome killings all across Nigeria are Fulani who share same cultural and religious affiliations with the President and almost all the heads of strategic national/internal security platforms such as Nigerian Customs; Nigerian Immigration services; Head of national Police; Head of secret police; head of external spying agency and top commanding officers within the military. HURIWA has told President Muhammadu Buhari emphatically to adhere by the Constitution and rejig the heads of these internal security institutions because doing so would infuse a sense of patriotism, nationalism and competency to confront these armed hoodlums headlong and restore national security. 

Speaking through the National coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA has also challenged the National Assembly to live up to the constitutional duties assigned to them by compelling the president to comply with extant provisions of the constitution and appoint top security officers to head the internal security architectures in such a way to reflect the Federal character principles as enshrined in section 14(4) of the Nigerian constitution or be impeached for violating the constitution. Section 14(4) of the Nigerian constitution states thus: “The composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognize the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of the Federation. Similarly section 14(3) speaks to the issue of the legal obligations to adhere to federal character principle in making national appointments. ”

HURIWA has also carpeted the senate president Mr. Ahmed Lawan for failing to provide legislative leadership to ensure that the ongoing undermining of national security due to the incompetence and/or outright compromises based on ethno-religious sentiments of top security heads are ended and for Nigeria to be professionally secured.

“The National Assembly under this weak leadership of Senator Ahmed Lawan has done nothing to compel President Buhari to change the non-performing heads of customs and immigration who have failed spectacularly to check the inflow of sophisticated arms and weapons of mass destructions through the border posts which has even led to the closing of all Nigeria land borders.”

“The National Assembly by virtue of section 4 has the legislative powers of the Federation and is empowered to compel all relevant agencies of government to either perform optimally or be refused public funding because the National Assembly has the powers of appropriation in line with several provisions of the constitution including section 80(1) of the 1999 constitution which provides thus: “All revenues or other moneys raised or received by the Federation (not being revenues or other moneys payable under this Constitution or any Act of the National Assembly into any other public fund of the Federation established for a specific purpose) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation. Sections 80(2); (3) and (4) empowers the National Assembly to control the expenditures of public fund and these powers can be used to compel the Nigerian President to sack incompetent federal government heads of agencies or they are starved of funds.”