HURIWA condemns massacre of Fulani, inter-ethnic warfare in Kogi
*WARNS OF DANGER OF INFLUX OF ‘FAKE’ ALMAJIRAI FROM NORTH TO SOUTH:
The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned as unwarranted and a primitive crime against humanity, the reported killings of three Fulani herdsmen by unidentified armed militia in Egume, Dekina local government area of Kogi State, at the weekend, following early morning invasion of a Fulani settlement.
HURIWA blames the escalating spectre of bloodshed and wanton violence to the inability and unwillingness of the Federal Government since the past five years to holistically confront the widening spectre of blood cuddling violence by armed Fulani herdsmen which have largely targeted farming communities leading to the killing of undetermined number of land owners who are usually displaced.
The Rights group said Nigeria stands the risks of witnessing large scale revenge killings targeting mostly innocent Fulani because of the illegality and the bloody violence unleashed on farming communities all over Nigeria without the Federal government doing anything under the law to arrest, prosecute and punish the armed Fulani herdsmen and their sponsors and supporters in and out of government circles.
HURIWA is therefore pleading with President Muhammadu Buhari to behave like the President of all of Nigeria and fish out all the mass killers and prosecute them in accordance with the rule of law just as the Rights group said the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu has in the past few months paraded many of these armed marauders and Fulani herdsmen responsible for the spate of killings but regrettably these suspects are not properly charged before the competent court of law in line with the constitutional stipulations.
HURIWA has also called on the governors of the 36 states of the Federation to ensure that the sanctity of the two week’s ban on inter-state travels is maintained even as the Rights group said the influx of old men disguised as ALMAJIRAI from Northern states to the South is ominous particularly at a time when the Inter-State travels are banned by the Quarantine Act of 1926 as read out by President Muhammadu Buhari and gazzetted by the Federal government of Nigeria.
HURIWA believes that the influx of adults from some Northern states to the South is a game plan by haters of peace to plant instability in the South that has relatively remained insulated from the self destructive violence unleashed on innocent people in the North of Nigeria.
“These adults hiding in trailers and trucks being exported like goods to the South are trained bandits who are heading to the South to replicate the killings that innocent people are facing in such places like Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto. The Southern and Northern governors must stop this grave threats to national security. The real almajiris children displaced from streets of NORTHERN NIGERIA must be resettled and reintegrated with their biological parents because every almajiris child has a biological parents”.
HURIWA citing a report by the Assistant Secretary of Mytti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, (MCBAN), Kogi State chapter, Mallam Ademu Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of the Association’s Chairman, Wakili Yusuf Damina, disclosed that on the 14 of this month, which is on Thursday, at about 8amsome gunmen heavily armed with guns and other dangerous weapons invaded Fulani community at Ofanwa Elubi in Egume and opened fire on the Fulani people and killed three persons on the spot while about nine cows were also killed during the deadly attack just as he noted that many people were injured in the attack which lasted for several minutes, stressing that this was among several attacks on his people.
In a media Statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said that the recent killings of innocent Fulani in a part of Kogi State is unfortunate, and a dastardly crime against humanity by some armed cowards just as the Rights group said it is regrettable that innocent citizens are getting mauled to their untimely death in the most gruesome manner but both the state and federal governments charged with the constitutional and primary duty in section 14(2)(b) to prevent these premeditated attacks and violence of unfathomable dimensions have so far demonstrated an uncanny knack for irresponsibility and crass failure to do the needful and have equally failed spectacularly to arrest, prosecute and punish heavily, the killer herdsmen or other kinds of freelance armed hoodlums, armed ethnic militias and armed bandits who have killed and maimed thousands of citizens.
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HURIWA commiserate with the families of the Kogi Fulani settlers whose loved ones were needlessly massacred and we charge the Kogi State governor and President Muhammadu Buhari to sit up and provide the leadership needed for the heads of the various security forces to rise to the occasion and meet with the Constitutional responsibility of preventing mass killings and arresting and prosecuting mass killers before the competent courts of law in line with section 6 of the Constitution. HURIWA said compliance with section 6 is sacrosanct because offenders if allowed to continue to unleash violence could be interpreted to mean that government permits impunity and lawlessness which are antithetical to constitutional democracy.
Specifically, Section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 provides as follows: “(1) The judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the Federation. (2) The judicial powers of a State shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established, subject as provided by this Constitution, for a State. (3) The courts to which this section relates, established by this Constitution for the Federation and for the States, specified in subsection (5) (a) to (1) of this section, shall be the only superior courts of record in Nigeria; and save as otherwise prescribed by the National Assembly or by the House of Assembly of a State, each court shall have all the powers of a superior court of record. (4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be construed as precluding:- (a) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly from establishing courts, other than those to which this section relates, with subordinate jurisdiction to that of a High Court; (b) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly, which does not require it, from abolishing any court which it has power to establish or which it has brought into being. (5) This section relates to:- (a) the Supreme Court of Nigeria; (b) the Court of Appeal; (c) the Federal High Court; (d) the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; (e) a High Court of a State (f) the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; (g) a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State; (h) the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; (i) a Customary Court of Appeal of a State; (j) such other courts as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws; and (k) such other court as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal on matters with respect to which a House of Assembly may make laws. (6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section – (a) shall extend, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this constitution, to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law (b) shall extend, to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person; (c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution; (d) shall not, as from the date when this section comes into force, extend to any action or proceedings relating to any existing law made on or after 15th January, 1966 for determining any issue or question as to the competence of any authority or person to make any such law.”
Besides, the Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of Nigeria and the ADAMAWA State government for standing by and watching as Six people were killed in ethnic violence in Adamawa state, without the police command, the Adamawa state command of the Directorate of State Services(DSS) and other Security forces not being able to forestall this deadly upheavals that lasted for hours as if Nigeria has entered a season of ABSOLUTE ANARCHY.
HURIWA said: ” Big shame to the Adamawa State police command that It is now parroting the reason for the conflicts and has failed to deploy their skills, and resources to either stop It from happening or decisively bringing It to an end and arresting all the masterminds and sponsors of such a needless violence. Imagine that a Police Force established to enforce law and order is now busy telling tales about the conflicts that blew up in their very before and the police is only just stating that it was an ethnic violence which started following a disagreement between the Hausa community and the Chabo tribe, after a tricycle accident. What a scandal. The police command and all other Security forces on ground that allowed themselves to be overwhelmed by this inter ethnic conflict have lost their moral high ground to remain in offices in that state.”
HURIWA has once more asked President Muhammadu Buhari to activate effective mechanisms for nipping in the bud these many wanton killings by armed hoodlums and armed Fulani herdsmen just as the Rights group said it was unacceptable that the spate of killings have become so widespread under the watch of the current administration and all that Nigerians kept hearing are empty rhetoric and theatrics from President Muhammadu Buhari even as the officials designated to prevent the killings and spearhead the prosecution of these mass killers are behaving like they are sacred cows who can’t be sanctioned for failing to carry out their legal obligations to the good people of Nigeria.
“Why will the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu and the Director General of the Department of States Services still be doing in their respective offices when the incidence of mass killings keep escalating by the day and thousands of innocent Nigerians are killed?”
