Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) on Thursday, urged the hierarchies of the Nigerian Army not hide under the pretext of the murder of two about-to-wed soldiers to launch full-scale genocide in the South-East.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, condemned the gruesome murder of Master Warrant Officer Audu Linus (retired) and Private Gloria Matthew.

The group tasked security agents to give the assailants a hot chase and bring them to book, noting that such cannibalism should not go unpunished.

Gunmen had killed the two lovers on April 30, 2022 when they were on transit to Imo State for their traditional wedding. Matthew was first raped before she was shot dead along with her lover, Linus, both beheaded, while the criminals had made a video of the incident and circulated it online.

The Nigerian Army, the Presidency, and many Nigerians had condemned the brutality and described it as terrorism taken too far.

The Army had also accused the Indigenous People of Biafra and its arm, the Eastern Security Network of the heinous crime but IPOB led by embattled Nnamdi Kanu, had denied the allegation, saying it knew nothing about it.

Reacting in its statement, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “It is disappointing that the Army and the Presidency are threatening fire and brimstone against imaginary enemies they identified as IPOB even without verifiable, forensic evidence pinning IPOB to the cruelty and gruesome beheading of the Igbo female soldier and her lover.

“HURIWA unequivocally condemns any primitive act of murder like the killing of these two soldiers and other security personnel.

“However, the government should blame itself for its inability and unwillingness to expose with concrete evidence the real perpetrators of the many violent killings in the South-East attributed to people known and called unknown gunmen.

“Government should tell us how it reached the conclusion of the group responsible for the spate of attacks in Igboland with speculative and unsubstantiated tales by moonlight.

“HURIWA warns the government and soldiers not to hide under the anger over the brutal murder of the two soldiers to kill off innocent Igbo youths that may be roped in with phantom charges of involvement even with no scientific evidence.

“Terrorists are overrunning the country, bringing down Nigerian Air Force jets in Zamfara and other parts of the country, bombing moving trains in Kaduna, attacking airports all over the North-West. The terrorists also kill, maim and kidnap innocent Nigerians. They are everywhere and HURIWA posits that they have infiltrated the South-East to cause unprintable horror.

“The government and the Army must fish out the exact killers of the two lovebird soldiers and the perpetrators of other despicable and dastardly acts of criminality in the South-East and other parts of the country so that the innocent won’t be punished while the real devil walk away freely.”

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/army-must-not-hide-under-soldiers-murder-to-wipe-out-igbo-youths-huriwa/

Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group:-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has described the Lagos State’s white paper from the outcomes of the year-long Lagos State commission of investigation on #ENDSARS protest as a “RUMPLED PAPER”, “WHITE LIES” and tissues of falsehoods, political gymnastics.

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) said that the deliberate action of the Lagos State governor to play the role of a maverick by editing our the heart and mind of the findings and recommendations of the panel on the #ENDSARS PROTESTS, shows that all the while the setting up of the investigation commission which gulped millions of taxpayers money was simply for political gimmicks and shadow chasing.

“The so called White paper is a total package of half baked white lies which were actually manufactured to satisfy the political godfather and the man who singlehandedly railroaded the little known Mr. Jide Sanwaolu into office as Governor in 2019 after denying the then incumbent Governor of the opportunity of a second term because perhaps he got tired of playing the second fiddle and revolted against the political godfather in Bourdillon streets Ikoyi Lagos.

We had thought it was mere speculations that the owners of Lekki Toll Gate were connected to the former governor of Lagos State but with this brazen government’s magic performed by Governor SanwaOlu in the open, it is now clear that we were taken for a ride with the setting up of the Lagos panel whose members nevertheless discharged their mandates honourably to the chagrin and disapproval of the powers that be in Lagos state”.

HURIWA condemned the Lagos State governor for allowing his political allegiance to the family of the owners of the concensioned Lekki Toll gate linked to the God father of Lagos State, to taint and manipulate the well though out recommendations and findings of the judicial panel.

HURIWA through its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National director of media Miss. Zainab Yusuf said it was laughable that the governor could pick and choose which of the findings of the panel on the number and identities of casualties from the brutal attacks by armed security operatives against protesters on October 20th 2020 would qualify as being politically correct or not.

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/endsars-panel-governor-sanwo-olu-turned-out-rumpled-paper-in-place-of-white-paper-huriwa-says/

Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director-General of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), has tasked corps members to take advantage of the NYSC scheme to promote unity and integration in the country.

The DG gave this charge, on Tuesday, during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2021 Batch ‘B’, Stream II corps members at the permanent orientation camp, Iseyin.

Ibrahim, in a statement delivered by the Oyo State Coordinator, Mrs Grace Ogbuogebe, said the corps members must embrace this “opportunity of a lifetime” and strive to promote national unity and integration.

He said, “Your presence in this camp is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I, therefore, enjoin you to participate actively in all the aforementioned programmes to enable you to succeed.

“You have been deliberately assembled from diverse ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds to enable you to begin, right from here, the performance of your much-envisaged roles in the promotion of national unity and integration.

“Accordingly, I encourage you to ensure healthy interactions, exchange ideas that will broaden your understanding of the country and build lasting friendships.”

The NYSC DG further urged ..........

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/nyscs-dg-asks-corpers-to-be-patriotic/

Following a claim by the media spokesman Garba Shehu that his boss President Muhammadu Buhari deserves credit for his efforts in tackling security issues in Nigeria, he has been challenged to embark on road trips without security details from Abuja to Zamfara and Katsina and from Abuja to Lagos.

The trips, according to the prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) should either happen or the Presidential aide should cover his face in shame for talking down on the hundreds of innocent citizens wasted on Nigerian roads especially in the North West by Fulani terrorists in the last 6 years.

HURIWA disclosed that the Nigerian leader's senior special assistant made this claim on Friday, November 26, while presenting a paper at the tenth year anniversary of Federal University Dutsin Ma (FUDMA) in Katsina state and according to him, the Buhari administration is the only government that has provided a workable solution to herder-farmer crisis

HURIWA recalled that GARBA Shehu while presenting a paper, tagged ‘Fake news: Challenges of information management’, stated that it's incorrect to assert that the government has or is not doing anything to address insecurity. According to him, the current administration led by Buhari is the only government of Nigeria since independence that has put forward a working solution to the herder-farmer challenges.

The Rights group said the spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari lacks decorum and respect for the memories of those hapless and innocent citizens whose lives were deliberately taken away by different armed non state actors including but not limited to the rampaging armed Fulani terrorists who have continued to escalate their terrorism and are unleashing unprecedented violence and bloodshed in parts of Plateau and Southern Kaduna State even as we write.

HURIWA said it defies logic and commonsense to think that one of the key spokesmen of President Muhammadu Buhari could be this insensitive and reckless to utter such words that insecurity has been brought to a manageable level when in actual fact the nearly 60 worshippers of Alheri Baptist Church in Kaduna kidnapped and ferried into the lawless Kaduna forests are still being held hostage and indeed the hostage takers and Fulani terrorists have just reportedly demanded over N88 million cash as ransom before these innocent citizens whose lives were jeopardized by the crass inability of the President to take effective measures to combat terrorists, would be freed in this 21 St century World and yet Garba Shehu the spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari is making such a recklessly and senseless statement.

However, it would appear that Mr. Garba Shehu is mistaken our challenge made out of altruism and patriotism to mean that we had 'betted' out (like NairaBet) or fixed some amount of money to be paid to him should he take up our challenge. We made our challenge based on empirical evidence that insecurity is still rife and that unless killers are brought to trial and published which is not the case now, we can't say that government is successful with the fight against mass killings. Mr. Garba Shehu had called us on the phone to accept the challenge on the condition that within 48 hours we should bring our lawyer so his lawyer sign agreements that something untoward won't be orchestrated whilst he embarked on the journey in line with our challenge. However, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria advised that we turn down the request because it is not necessary to sign an undertaken before someone travels and since he Garba Shehu had stated that security has improved dramatically, all that he needed to do was to accept our challenge and the travel and show evidence that he actually did road travel without security details. He has to do it with credible television stations that should also be brave enough to cover it since they reported him saying that security has improved.

Secondly, we believe that part of the reason for insecurity is the ways and manners that some ministers are undermining the RULE OF LAW and are abusing their public offices by influencing the President not to confront human rights abusers in the Army and Police. The ministers of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed and that of State for Labour are the two principal officers of this government whose media appearances and comments are undermining the dispensation of justice especially the redress of the monumental human rights abuses by Army and Police as found out by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the #ENDSARS PROTESTS and the massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20th 2020. Lai Mohammed stridently claimed that there was no evidence of any massacre even when the panel reported otherwise and the minister of Labour is now saying that the panel is illegal.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, had described the panel the Lagos State Government set up to probe police brutality as...

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has described the panel the Lagos State Government set up to probe police brutality as illegal.

The National Economic Council (NEC) had in the wake of violent EndSARS protests against police brutality of 2020, directed states to constitute Judicial Panels of Inquiry to investigate complaints against the Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) and other police units.

A total of 28 states had set up panels, which submitted their reports to the governors.

However, trouble started after the Lagos panel submitted its report, which was eventually leaked.

In the report, the panel indicted the military and the state government while it declared that 11 people lost their lives at Lekki tollgate.

It also recommended the prosecution of soldiers and some policemen.

The Federal Government had earlier dismissed the report as fake, insisting that it was “tales by moonlight”.

When he appeared on a live programme of Channels TV, Keyamo said the panel lacks the locus standi to probe the military and the police by virtue of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

He added that only the Federal Government can investigate the military and police.

These contradictions by these two ministers are directly detrimental to national security because what they stand to be saying is that extrajudicial killings of citizens should continue and that the effort made by the panels set up at the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari are of no moment meaning that they even rubbished the National Exco meeting and NEC meeting of the President and his cabinet which had authorized the setting up of these panels all across Nigeria. These two ministers are enemies of human rights and they constitute grave dangers to national security because President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was right to have authorized the constitution of the #EndSARS protests panels of investigation in line with the constitutional powers of the President and the fact that the PEOPLE OF NIGERIA ARE THE OWNERS OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF NIGERIA. MOREOVER BY LAW THE MILITARY AND POLICE ARE NOT ABOVE THE STATUTES AND THE CRIMINAL CODES IN APPLICATION ACROSS NIGERIA BECAUSE THEY ARE SUBJECT TO THE LAW JUST LIKE EVERY CITIZEN AND ARE ALSO TO FAVE MILITARY COURT MARSHALL IN ADDITION.



Nigeria 1999 Constitutional as Amended: Section 1 (1) stated thus: This Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on the authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

4(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation: (a) shall be vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation; and (b)shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, power to make laws.
14 (1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice. (2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that: (a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government: and

218(1) the powers of the President as the Commissioner-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the armed forces of the Federation. (2) The powers conferred on the President by subsection (1) of this section shall include power to appoint the Chief of Defence staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and heads of any other branches of the armed forces of the Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly. (3) The President may, by directions in writing and subject to such conditions as he think fit, delegate to any member of the armed forces of the Federation his powers relating to the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation.


EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO: NATIONAL COORDINATOR
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA)
29TH NOVEMBER 2021

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/why-we-challenged-garba-shehu-to-travel-to-zamfara-from-abuja-and-lagos-from-abuja-by-road-without-escorts-huriwa/

We in the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) have once more observed with shock the deliberate delay tactics of the Armed forces to crush the terrorists in the North West of NIGERIA masquerading as mere armed bandits. We regret to observe that these terrorists who are mostly ethnic Fulani same ethnicity with all the heads of the internal security institutions are still operating freely in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara and Katsina and have killed scores of citizens only in the last few days.


The primary responsibility as the President is the protection of lives and properties of citizens.

According to Section 140(1) A person elected to the office of President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and he has taken and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution. (2) The oaths aforesaid shall be administered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria or the person for the time being appointed to exercise the functions of that office. Section 141 - There shall be for the Federation a Vice-President.

OATH OF OFFICE OF PRESIDENT STATES AS FOLLOWS:

“I .. .. .. do solemnly swear/affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity well-being, and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; .. .. ”

The Global Terrorism Index (2019) ranked Nigeria as the third-worst nation prone to terrorism with no improvement since 2017.

Asides insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and secessionist violence are pushing Nigeria towards the brink of collapse with many calling for the resignation of the president for “failing” to secure the country.

For the past six years the insecurity across Nigeria has worsened beyond the Boko Haram insurgency. Virtually all parts of Nigeria are currently battling one form or another of violent crimes, evidence that the president has failed to keep his promise on security.

Many Nigerians did not believe their President, and currently many more rather feel the opposite about his positive self-assessment – that things have actually gone from bad to worse under Buhari’s watch.


These sentiments were expressed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said he was embarrassed about how President Buhari is running the country, insisting that Africa’s most populous black nation is moving towards becoming a failed State. The former President then openly accused the current administration of mismanaging diversity by allowing disappearing old ethnic and religious fault lines to reopen in greater fissures with drums of bitterness, separation and disintegration.

The analysis showed that insecurity affects economic growth by drying-out investments, increases unemployment and dwindles government revenue, amongst others. Despite these effects, government capital expenditure on internal security did not grow astronomically to match the hydra-headed problem.


Obasanjo is apparently not alone. Wole Soyinka, poet, essayist and first African Nobel prize winner, concurred with the former President’s assessment, describing the country as a crumbling edifice on the edge of collapse. According to another elder statesman, the former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, referring to attacks across the country by bandits and criminal herdsmen, the failure is because ‘no serious and patriotic government will allow this level of killings of its citizens by terrorists and be watching aimlessly’. A prominent Islamic scholar, Sheik Murtala Sokoto, described those still praising Buhari as liars and hypocrites.


Even within the President Buhari’s own party, many people who worked for his victory now complain openly that the mission that brought them to power might have been wilfully abandoned.

Adegbami (2013) noted that insecurity has led to the destruction of business and properties, equipment’s, relocation and closing down of businesses. Many business operators who were residing in the northern part of Nigeria have either close down or relocated their businesses due to Boko Haram insurgents.

THE EFFECT OF FAILURE OF THE PRESIDENT TO STICK TO HIS OATH OF OFFICE.

According to section 143 of the 1999 constitution (as amended),
1. The President or Vice-President may be removed from office in accordance with the provisions of this section.
2. Whenever a notice of any allegation in writing signed by not less than one-third of the members of the National Assembly:- (a) is presented to the President of the Senate; (b) stating that the holder of the office of President or Vice-President is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office, detailed particulars of which shall be specified, the President of the Senate shall within seven days of the receipt of the notice cause a copy thereof to be served on the holder of the office and on each member of the National Assembly, and shall also cause any statement made in reply to the allegation by the holder of the office to be served on each member of the National Assembly.
3. Within fourteen days of the presentation of the notice to the President of the Senate (whether or not any statement was made by the holder of the office in reply to the allegation contained in the notice) each House of the National Assembly shall resolve by motion without any debate whether or not the allegation shall be investigated.
4. A motion of the National Assembly that the allegation be investigated shall not be declared as having been passed, unless it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.
5. Within seven days of the passing of a motion under the foregoing provisions, the Chief Justice of Nigeria shall at the request of the President of the Senate appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation as provide in this section.
6. The holder of an office whose conduct is being investigated under this section shall have the right to defend himself in person and be represented before the Panel by legal practitioners of his own choice.
7. A Panel appointed under this section shall - (a) have such powers and exercise its functions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the National Assembly; and (b) within three months of its appointment report its findings to each House of the National Assembly.
8. Where the Panel reports to each House of the National Assembly that the allegation has not been proved, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter.
9. Where the report of the Panel is that the allegation against the holder of the office has been proved, then within fourteen days of the receipt of the report at the House the National Assembly shall consider the report, and if by a resolution of each House of the National Assembly supported by not less than two-thirds majority of all its members, the report of the Panel is adopted, then the holder of the office shall stand removed from office as from the date of the adoption of the report.
10. No proceedings or determination of the Panel or of the National Assembly or any matter relating thereto shall be entertained or questioned in any court.
11. In this section - gross misconduct" means a grave violation or breach of the provisions of this Constitution or a misconduct of such nature as amounts in the opinion of the National Assembly to gross misconduct.


Where the President fails to fulfil his constitutional duties as stated above, we demand he step aside or the National Assembly initiates impeachment proceedings against him on grounds of gross misconduct as provided for in Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.


We remain hopeful as citizens of Nigeria and call on all Nigerians to keep hope alive as we bond together and build....................
https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/huriwa-charges-president-muhammadu-buhari-to-crush-terrorists-he-calls-armed-bandits/

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Democracy is such a very intriguing enterprise in the sense that it is not just a system of government in which the collective interest of the people becomes the centerpiece. But importantly, democracy is a way of life in which the constituents are expected to be eternally alert and engage constructively in national conversations that are basically focused towards advancing the goals of sustainable development, capacity building and human resource development and wealth creation. One of the fathers of modern democracy was quoted as stating that ‘Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people’.

A central theme that has become strategic in the area of nation building is the essence of deepening understanding about the contributions to the nation building process by the citizens.

This is where the personality whose political lifestyle is the pulling force for this reflection comes in and that person is the current holder of the high office of the Chief Whip of the Ninth Session of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senator representing Abia North Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

The area of interest about his consistent political life style, modus operandi and modus vivendi is the abiding faith he has in deepening inter-ethnic harmony as the prerequisite for evolving active citizenship for effective, efficient and result oriented nation-building process.

A freshly minted political science book published this year and authored by Jaideep Prabhu titled: “How Should A Government Be?” has something to say about citizenship.

I will deal briefly with a few citations from this scholar on what he considered as the basics of citizens.

He wrote as follows: “What, then, is the role of citizens in making their governments better? Clearly, good citizens must be politically engaged and informed. Even more importantly, when they can, they must choose their political leaders wisely and hold those leaders to account.”

“Accordingly, this chapter will look at how voters can choose good leaders. Setting aside, as far as possible, questions of substantive politics, it will ask the question: what do leaders who know how to run a twenty-first-century government look like? It will also look at how citizens can create a virtuous circle whereby government becomes more responsive to pressures to change in real time. Of course, when all else fails, citizens must be prepared to make change themselves. If informed, engaged citizens can’t ‘beat’em’, how can they ‘join’em’ to make change happen? This chapter will end with an analysis of the role of citizens in driving protest movements and political activism around the world.”

The author then dissected the theme of Citizens vis-à-vis the basics.

His words: “Even in an autocratic society, citizens must be vigilant. They must consistently assess and re-assess the terms of the social contract. As John Locke advised, they must push for getting as much from the state as they can without giving up more of their freedom than is necessary.”

The erudite author argued that in the worst circumstances, they (citizens) must even be prepared to overthrow their governments to achieve their ends ( By overthrow he meant through democratic change process of electioneering).

Other ways include also that citizens as well as being engaged, citizens must be informed. Civic education he said has always been essential to systems of government: Plato, Cicero, Machiavelli and Rousseau all emphasized the important of instilling political virtue in the young. As James Madison put it: ‘A people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives … A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.’”

He posed the question- How should citizens be? And responds as follows:

“Thus, the proper functioning of states depends on citizens faithfully performing their civic duties. Above all, they must regularly participate in elections. ‘Boil it down,’ says Barak Obama. If we don’t vote, then this democracy doesn’t work.”

“It is easy enough to exhort citizens to be informed and engaged and to vote. Indeed, it almost goes without saying that citizens should be and do all these things. Providing such advice is akin to saying to a student: ‘Study hard, get good grades, be intelligent.’ But how can citizens go beyond such pieties and learn how to choose their leaders better? How can they learn to spot good politicians from bad ones?”, he concludes.

Flowing from the above monumental body of knowledge on citizenship, there is no gainsaying that Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has successfully demonstrated the empirical fact that the best form of active citizenship in Nigeria is the capacity of the person to make himself, herself available as a tool for the promotion of national integration. He has had the opportunities...........

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/orji-uzor-kalu-audacity-of-citizenship/

The HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) is supportive of any approach to which a constructive resolution of the crises in the South East instigated by the actions or inaction of certain forces embedded in the current Federal Administration in Abuja. Any political solution is a welcomed decision and is in no way an interference with the Judiciary because the President through his Attorney General of the Federation instituted the persecution of Nnamdi Kanu.

First and foremost, the crisis started when Mr. President refused to accord the Igbo nation the constitutionally mandated and required equity and equality of citizenship of Nigeria by not considering anybody in the SOUTH EAST TO HEAD ANY SECURITY INSTITUTION UNDER HIS WATCH. Nobody from the South East is holding any command or leadership positions of a security institution under this current dispensation.

The over 60 million Igbo citizens of Nigeria were practically pushed out of Nigeria by Mr. President when he did not trust any Igbo person for appointment of or into any strategic dimensions as one of the security chiefs under his government. So Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB are just mere manifestation of the deep seated collective angst of the Igbo nation instigated by marginalisation and apartheid policy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s exclusionist policies targeted against Igbos.

So, it is Mr. President that caused the problem in the first place so he should resolve it by releasing Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally and ending the systematic persecution in the High Court of Nnamdi Kanu.

Nnamdi Kanu's alleged offences which is broadcasting through his IPOB radio station in a remote part of London is not up to 50% of what Nassir El-Rufai or Sheikh Gumi have done and said against Christians and Southern Nigeria but they are free but Nnamdi Kanu is detained because he is Igbo.

Nnamdi Kanu has not done or said half of what Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has done or said in the media yet he is a free man moving around with security whereas the other one is still in detention because he is an Igbo man and his life is still threaten. Gumi mingles with terrorists but he is in freedom. Nnamdi Kanu set up agitation organisation called IPOB to campaign peacefully for Self determination but he is in detention and his life is under severe threats due to the grave conditions under which he is being detained.

The statement by Mr. President that releasing Nnamdi Kanu will violate or amount to the interference with the Judiciary is not correct, that is not the correct position of the law. This is because what is going on between Nnamdi Kanu, the government of Muhammadu Buhari and DSS is not prosecution but persecution.

Mr. President said if he released Nnamdi Kanu it will amount to interference of the Judiciary?

Which Judiciary? Is it the Judiciary the DSS has taken over or seized the control of who goes in or comes out that the federal government's executive arm controls the premises and determined who comes in or out that the President is talking about? DSS has already hijacked the federal High court. So the executive arm of government under President Muhammadu Buhari has already hijacked the judiciary.

Lastly under the constitution the attorney general of the federation who begins an action can terminate it at anytime based on public interest, So they should release Nnamdi Kanu immediately because of public interest, equity, justice, fairness and equality of citizenship. If Gumi and El-Rufai who admitted paying armed Fulani militia to stop killing Christians and Gumi who defends terrorists are free, why detain Nnamdi Kanu?

Besides, the constitutional power of the Attorney General of the Federation to discontinue criminal prosecution at any stage before judgment is delivered in any criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person is not in doubt as stated by law. The only debate is as to the propriety or otherwise in the exercise of the awesome powers vested in the Attorney General in Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in Nnamdi Kanu's matter, it is of the highest public interest to end his PERSECUTION.



Arguably, the popular sentiment is that in the exercise of this power, the Hon Attorney-General should address his mind and have regard to public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process. In several celebrated cases, our courts have deliberated on the overriding consideration. The central conclusion is that the bona fide of the Attorneys General could not be questioned as adduced by legal experts severally.

Section174 of Nigeria constitution says-:. stated thus: (1) The Attorney-General of the Federation shall have power - (a) to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under any Act of the National Assembly; (b) to take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by any other authority or person; and (c) to discontinue at any stage before judgement is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person.
(2) The powers conferred upon the Attorney-General of the Federation under subsection (1) of this section may be exercised by him in person or through officers of his department.

(3) In exercising his powers under this section, the Attorney-General of the Federation shall have regard to the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process.

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/release-nnamdi-kanu-now-for-justice-and-equity-says-huriwa/

Prominent pro-democracy and Civil Rights Advocacy Group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has carpeted the United States of America under the Democratic Presidency of Joe Biden for unilaterally delisting Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari under nations in the globe that tolerate selective killings of religious worshippers based on their faith.


HURIWA recalled that the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, made the change in policy known in a statement on Wednesday ahead of his visit to Nigeria.


He added that the American government had blacklisted Russia, China and eight others as Countries of “Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”


“The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country. In far too many places around the world, we continue to see governments harass, arrest, threaten, jail, and kill individuals simply for seeking to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs.”


“This Administration is committed to supporting every individual’s right to freedom of religion or belief, including by confronting and combating violators and abusers of this human right.


“Each year the Secretary of State has the responsibility to identify governments and non-state actors, who, because of their religious freedom violations, merit designation under the International Religious Freedom Act.


“I am designating Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.


“I am also placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.” “Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern,”


HURIWA recalled that in December 2020, the US had listed Nigeria among countries blacklisted for violating religious freedom.


HURIWA said the US government under Joe Biden has demonstrated a non challant tendency concerning the massive religiously motivated genocides that are currently going on under the active watch and conspiratorial connivance of the Federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari who concentrated the powers of internal security to only members of Hausa/Fulani Moslems even when Nigeria is a plural democracy with multiplicity of Ethnicities and Religious/Belief systems.


HURIWA said it was wrong for United States to adopt this provocative and ignorant decision even when hundreds of thousands of Christians of Northern Nigeria extraction are still facing genocides by Moslem Fulani armed militia supported by officials working inside the office of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Rights group asked the President of the USA and the United States Congress to change the decision immediately.


HURIWA said, for avoidance of doubts, we will itemise the attacks targeting Christians since the year 2015 which are yet to be resolved by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.


They are as follows: "Herdsmen invaded 15 villages, burnt churches, 405 houses behind army HQ – ECW

Published 5 August 2021 by PUNCH

THE Evangelical Church Winning All also known as ECWA on Wednesday expressed disappointment over the killings and destruction of houses, including its churches in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.


Suspected Herdsmen Killed 33 Residents, Burnt Churches, 215 Houses – Southern Kaduna Group Laments

Published JUL 14, 2021 by SaharaReporters

A statement issued by Luka Binniyat, the spokesperson of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, said about four churches were burnt and 215 homes razed down in the attacks over the past six days.


Two Christians killed, dozens abducted in attack on church in Nigeria

Published Friday, Nov 05 2021 by chvnradio.com

Two Christians were killed in an attack on a Baptist church service in southern Kaduna state, Nigeria on Sunday, Oct. 31, sources say.

The lethal attack on Baptist worshippers in Kakau Daji village, Chikun County, also resulted in the kidnapping of dozens of Christians from the Sunday service, church leaders said.


Church Says Over 27,000 Persons Displaced In Southern Kaduna

Published November 16, 2016 by Channels Television

church in Kaduna State says more than 27,000 people have been displaced from their homes since the renewed attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen against natives of the southern part of Kaduna State.


Catholic Church Catechist, two others killed by herdsmen in Benue

Published March 14, 2018 by Vanguard

According to the source, “the both of them were going for early morning Mass when they both ran into the ambushed but his in-law managed to escape alive.


Gunmen storm Benue church, kill 15 worshippers

Published April 24, 2018 by Premium Times

Suspected herdsmen have killed 15 people in an early morning attack on a Catholic Church in Benue State, officials told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday.

The attack occurred in Ayar-Mbalom, a community in Gwer East Local Government Area.


Eighteen killed in Benue church by suspected herdsmen

Published 24 April 2018 by The Guardian

Two priests were among at least 18 people killed in a dawn attack on a church in central Nigeria, police said on Tuesday.

Around 30 suspected herdsmen attacked Mbalom community in the volatile region killing the worshippers and the two priests, said Benue state police commissioner Fatai Owoseni in the state capital of Makurdi.


Suspected herdsmen attack Plateau, kill pastor, wife, three children

Published 30 August 2018 by PUNCH

Over eight persons were killed when suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked churches and houses in Barkin Ladi Local Government area of Plateau State.



One killed, others injured as gunmen attack church in Kaduna

Published September 27, 2021 by Vanguard

One person was yesterday killed, while several others sustained various injuries in an attack at Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, Gabaciwa in in Kachia Local Government Area, LGA of Kaduna State.


Gunmen kill one, abduct four in Kaduna church attack – Official

Published 25th April 2021 by Premium Times

The Kaduna State Government has said one person was killed and four others abducted in an attack on Haske Baptist Church at Manini village, in Chikun Local Government Area.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the gunmen attacked the church at about 9.a.m on Sunday.


Gunmen attack Catholic seminary, kidnap three

Published October 12, 2021 by Premium Times

Gunmen on Monday attacked a Catholic seminary and kidnapped three people.

An official said the gunmen attacked the Christ the King Major Seminary in Kaduna State at about 7:26 p.m.


Two killed, worshippers abducted in gunmen’s raid on Kaduna church

Published Nov 1, 2021 by The Nation

Two worshippers were yesterday feared killed after gunmen killed two at the Baptist Church, Kakau Daji, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

The worshippers were attacked during the church’s Sunday service. They were said to have surrounded the church before they started shooting.


Kaduna: Bandits attack church during service, open fire on worshippers

Published on September 27, 2021 by Daily post............

https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/religious-intolerance-huriwa-faults-usa-on-delisting-nigeria-under-buhari/

The word that rushed through my subconscious is anomie when I remember the critical state of high unemployment amongst the Nigerian youngsters.


The predominance of social anomie in Nigeria has, more or less, come to be symbolized by the younger aspect of the population. Yet, this axiom is occasionally challenged by some significant actions of youth citizenship. Such actions throw up theoretical and practical challenges for the project of national cohesion, (solidarity, unity and growth).


While the potential role of service in addressing the violations of the idea and space of “the social” in postcolonial polities is often idealized and shared by many, the almost complete erosion of the same also tempers expectations that such actions that are capable of reconstructing the social space as the first condition of repairing the political space would, in actuality, be honoured or performed, if at all, by youths.


Perhaps, when the National Youth Service Scheme was established in 1973, it was not envisaged that a country that just survived a civil war was going to experience population eruption in the nearest future. From about 60 million in the early 1970s, the nation’s population is today above 200million; as such there has been a steady rise in the demand for formal education across all zones of the country.


Also, considering the immense job opportunities available for graduates at the time, none ever dreamt that graduate unemployment will assume its present proportion. But almost 48 years down the line, the NYSC scheme, established to unite the people through socio-cultural instruments has broadened in scope and vision.


As youth unemployment continues to soar, the scheme, which, in recent times, has been churning out over 350,000 corps members annually, is equally confronted with designing strategies for mitigating youth unemployment and its attendant consequences.


One of such introductions is the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED), aimed at preparing corps members for post-service life. However, as lofty as the initiative is, provision of start-up fund for small businesses is crucial to its success.


Thus, for proper funding of activities of the scheme, Director General of the scheme; Brig General Shuaibu Ibrahim, proposed an establishment of a trust fund to be called NYSC Youths Trust Fund, and in recognition of the prevailing socio-economic challenges confronting the country, Nigerians have come to embrace the idea.


The good news is that the objectives of the Proposed Bill for an Act to establish the NYSC Trust Fund (NYSCTF) among other things, provides insight into what is expected, which includes sustainable source of funds for the NYSC for Skill acquisition training and provision of start-up capital for corps members; train and retrain the personnel of the NYSC; develop camps and NYSC formations and provide facilities; improve the general welfare of corps members and personnel of the scheme.


Relatedly, a core mandate of the National Youth Service Corp scheme as enshrined in the NYSC Act is to: S. 1(2)(c)The development of the Nigerian Youth and Nigeria into a great and dynamic economy; S.1(3)(d) to enable Nigerian youths to acquire the spirit of self-reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self-employment; S.1(3)(e) contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy; S1(4)(f) to induce employers, partly through their experience with members of the service corps, to employ more readily qualified Nigerians irrespective of their states of origin.


Therefore, apart from the positive, transformational and constructive social impacts the youth trust fund would bring, the initiative is about the surest remedy to youth’s involvement in social crimes. This is because “the idle mind” they say, “is the devil’s workshop”.


Incidentally, the current global trends on capacity building and manpower development of younger members of any given population when viewed side by side with the fundamental objectives for Nigeria putting up a sustainable platform from which creative minded and entrepreneurial youngsters that have had their one year compulsory National Service (NYSC), has global roots though every nation creates its own national values and institutions in which its core national interests are reflected and to which its citizens are committed.


For instance, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, adopted by ILO constituents on the occasion of the Centenary of the International Labour Organization (June 2019), calls upon the ILO to direct its efforts to, inter alia, “developing effective policies aimed at generating full, productive and freely chosen employment and decent work opportunities for all, and in particular facilitating the transition from education and training to work, with an emphasis on the effective integration of young people into the world of work”.


Additionally, the 2020 edition of the Global Employment Trends for Youth seeks to inform the design and implementation of such policies based on an update of key youth labour market indicators and in-depth assessments of trends and issues in the world of work facing young women and men.


The NYSC Youth Trust Fund comes at a critical juncture. This is because, as part of efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 8 to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”, the international community was called upon to, by 2020, (i) substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET); and (ii) develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment.


As the report showed, at the start of a new decade, the target to meaningfully reduce the proportion of youth NEET will be missed, highlighting the need to redouble efforts to generate decent jobs for the next generation of workers.


Furthermore, youth labour markets around the world face a number of important challenges: the global economy remains sluggish as geopolitical tensions, social unrest and global trade barriers have dragged on growth.


Recent epidemics carry the potential to further slow economic activity. These developments are particularly detrimental to youth as their employment prospects, relative to older workers, are more sensitive to economic downturns.


Hence, the necessity to recalibrate the NYSC for these 21st Century nation building challenges justifies the call for the establishment of an NYSC’s Youth Trust Fund by President Buhari.


To underscore the desirability and functional necessity of what is called NYSC Youth Trust Fund, academics and stakeholders from diverse disciplines and backgrounds converged in Abuja not too long ago to participate in a two-day symposium in collaboration with the scheme.


The symposium, which had the theme, “Consolidating the Gains of the NYSC in Youth Empowerment and National Development in the Face of Current Economic Realities: The Imperatives of a Trust Fund” was held from October 25 to October 26.


Those who spoke highlighted the necessity of the NYSC Trust Fund in the face of economic realities occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. A development expert, stated that the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund would serve as a critical interventionist vehicle to harness the vast potentials of youths in the country.


The Minister of the FCT; Mohammed Bello corroborated this much. He stated that the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund could not have come at a better time in cognizance that the NYSC can drive Nigeria’s economic recovery process, through the empowerment of its teeming youth, given the budding talents at its disposal.


Dr. Ifeuko Amadi; a civil society organization representative at the symposium, stated that the NYSC Trust Fund is as exciting and interesting because of the positives that would accrue to the country.


“We must begin to think outside the box in efforts at addressing the myriads of socio-economic challenges in the country. This is no doubt a laudable initiative that could not have come at a better time than now. The prospects are unimaginable, and if properly implemented, it could serve as a model for sustainable growth and development, not just in Nigeria, but across the African continent.”


This view was supported by the vast majority of stakeholders, who commended the NYSC Management for the initiative to propel the economic recovery process in Nigeria. Mr. Stanley Anene; a representative of the Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative, stated that the NYSC Trust Fund could bridge the gap in youths’ contributions to national development.


“The youths are always referred to as the leaders of tomorrow. The youths can be referred to as the nation’s backbone and have a higher success rate to change the dynamics to have a new model modification in the society. The youths are needed to serve as the lubricants for wheels of change and the NYSC Trust Fund presents us that unique opportunity to turn things around in the country.”


This was the general view of other stakeholders at the symposium. They opined that the NYSC Trust if established, would add bite to the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development initiative of the NYSC through adequate provision of training facilities and required funds for startups.


The visibly elated stakeholders further emphasized the need for the government to expedite action towards establishing the NYSC Trust Fund. They stated that the benefits of the NYSC Trust Fund could not be overemphasized. Emmanuel Bwala; a youth empowerment advocate, noted that the NYSC Trust Fund is long overdue given the strategic importance of the NYSC in national development.


“The NYSC as a scheme has contributed to nation-building over the years, aside from serving as that vehicle for national integration. Therefore, establishing the NYSC Trust Fund would make the scheme robust in delivery to the national development. It is indeed a well thought out initiative that the government must accord all necessary seriousness.”


It would be recalled that the DG of the NYSC, Brig Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, had advocated for the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund to cater for the financial empowerment of corps members as they pass out of service.


He has over time emphasized that the NYSC Trust Fund would help them establish their vocational businesses with the skills they acquired from the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme in service.


Also, some stakeholders had lent their support, stating that the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund would reduce unemployment amongst youths and curb the crime rate in the country.


Given the identified objectives and benefits, Nigeria could be said to be standing at a threshold of history that would see millions of youths getting involved in wealth creation if the TRUST FUND is established and transparently administered. The wait is long over due.


President Muhammadu Buhari stands at the thresholds of momentous history and if he inks his approval to the project called NYSC YOUTHS TRUST FUND, he will enter the pantheon of global history as one of the most recognizable creators of wealth for the younger population in the Black World. We await the birth of this NYSC YOUTH TRUST FUND.


EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA and blogs @www.huriwanigeria.com, www.emmanuelonwubiko.com.


https://thenigerianinsidernews.com/long-walk-to-nysc-youths-trust-fund/