The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has berated President Muhammadu Buhari, asking him to address the matter of armed Fulani herdsmen in the country.
HURIWA said this in its reaction to the recent killing of 13 police officers in Zamfara State by armed bandits, accusing the President of handling the issues of terrorism in the North with kid gloves.
Deputy Inspector General, DIG, Abba Kyari was recently deployed to the South East to fight operatives of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, and HURIWA wondered which region of the country is currently in need of the service of the highly rated police detective.
The rights group queried why the Buhari administration is poised to crush ESN, a group that, according to it, was set up by the youth of the South East who were fed up by consistent attack by Fulani herdsmen, who have invaded their farmland, destroy their livelihood and the next of them and even killed so many natives.
“The President must address the matter of kidnappers who are mostly Fulanis in the North who have destroyed the North East. The President was the one who sent soldiers and police people to Imo State and other parts of the South East to crush members of the Eastern Security Network,” HURIWA said in an exclusive interview with DAILY POST.
“Eastern Security Network, even though they have a link with the Indigenous People of Biafra, was set up by the youth 9f the South East of Nigeria who were fed up by consistent attack by Fulani herdsmen who have invaded their farmland, destroy their livelihood and the next of them and even killed so many natives.
“Eastern Security Network came about because governments of those states didn’t live up to their expectations. That is the necessity for setting up the security network and the Federal Government that has failed particularly to protect lives and properties was the same government that now went to go and kill the youths who have decided to set up the Eastern Security Network.
“And the government that has decided to go after ESN has refused to go after armed Fulani herdsmen and we are saying that the reason this is happening is because the President himself is a Fulani native.
“Nigerians have come to believe that the President is doing all this because of his ethnic interests and that his ethnic interests have undermined the National interests. For instance, the man(Deputy Inspector General of Police, Abba Kyari) who went to Imo State and was instrumental to the extrajudicial killings of suspected so-called unknown gunmen. He’s being celebrated in the media.
“A man who is from somewhere in the North East. People are even saying that the man can’t even go to his own state. I’m talking about Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Abba Kyari. Why is he not in Zamfara State to go after Fulani bandits that are killing police people all over the place.
“Only recently about 13 police officers were killed in Zamfara. Is that one a tolerable kind? Is that one a tolerable terrorism in the estimation of the Federal Government of Muhammadu Buhari? We are saying this illegality should stop! The President should also send Abba Kyari; he should send soldiers to Zamfara State, to all parts of the North West.
“Bandits have destroyed the North West. People can no longer travel from point A to point B because of the fear of being kidnapped. So these are the issues.
“And why is President Buhari finding it difficult to call them by their name. Why is he not calling them terrorists? Why is he calling them armed bandits? They’re not bandits. Bandits are just like ordinary armed robbers. These are not robbers. They’re sophisticated terrorists that are trying to destroy the country because if you cannot allow people to travel from point A to point B you are destroying the country.
“If you can’t allow children to go to school you kidnap them and start rapping them and keeping them for months and nobody is saying anything about it. Why should children be kidnapped from their schools and taken into forests and detained for up to a month or two?
“Only few days ago, students of Bethel …that were kidnapped by these terrorists were killed because they resisted attempts by these terrorists to rape them and the government is silent about it. Are they saying that the terrorists are working for the government?
“They should tell Nigerians why they’re treating the terrorists with kid gloves? That is what Nigerians want to know. And why did you crush a vigilante that was set up to drive away Fulani herdsmen in a part of the country and called them terrorists but here you have terrorists that are killing policemen.
“About 13 of them were killed yesterday in Zamfara State. One of the terrorists, whose father was arrested, according to reports, is destroying so many villages because of his father’s arrest. He said he’s going to deal with everybody and he’s actually carrying out his threats and the government is not doing anything about it because the guy is a Fulani “
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