The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has tasked government at the center to remove the log of wood in its own eye before making a move for the speck from ethnoreligious groups.
HURIWA stated this while dismissing as hypocritical and cosmetic, the idea of the imminent convocation of a dialogue session by government amongst ethnic nationalities as a way of promoting national harmony.
HURIWA was reacting to the security blueprint published by the office of the National Security Adviser, in which government is considering engaging in dialogue with those it called ‘sectional and factional groups’ in the country as part of measures aimed at tackling the nation’s security challenges.
The Rights group wondered why and how a Federal Government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari “that is so heavily sectional in terms of appointments and promotes the impunity of failure to prosecute armed Fulani herdsmen over the wilful killings of thousands of farmers due to the ethnoreligious affiliations of the suspected mass murderers to the current president, can successfully midwife and drive the process of actualizing national peace and security.”
It wondered “How a President under whose watch all the multi-billion dollars national strategic public works and projects by strategic ministries and agencies including armed forces are localized and set up majorly in his community of birth Daura Katsina State whereas most parts of Southern Nigeria including crude oil-bearing communities are criminally neglected and marginalized be seen attempting to drive a national process of dialogue for peace and national security if not that it will end up as the dialogues of the deaf?
“A government that allows the security forces and armed thugs to manipulate elections in favour of its own All Progressives Congress all over the Country even at the risks of setting ablaze a Woman in Kogi State so as to rig the governorship poll can’t possibly be talking about national peace when the same government is the engine room of organised anarchy, disunity and politically motivated killings.”
Dismissing the document on security published by the office of the national security adviser to the President as diversionary and cosmetic, the Rights group said “the greatest threats to national security is the lopsided appointments of persons from the Moslem, Hausa/Fulani section of the North of the country to head all vital national security institutions; all financial and economic institutions including all revenue generating agencies such as the federal inland revenue service, the customs, the immigration, the Aviation industry and top national security positions headed by Northern MOSLEMS is indeed a government that has balkanised Nigeria alongside Ethno-religious divides and unless these distortions are dismantled and all the injustices unleashed must be resolved and balanced to reflect federal character principles if president Muhammadu Buhari ever plans to bequeath the legacies of national harmony and security to Nigeria.
“A government that leaves out over 50 million Igbo Speaking population out of all strategic senior Policing and Military Commanding heights can’t possibly be talking about national harmony when these discriminatory policies remain the greatest threats to national security.”
HURIWA also told the federal government that “the frequent disobedience of the orders of the competent courts of law including the illegal detention of political prisoners, invasion of courtrooms and houses of judges in the DSS and the illegal unseating of the former CJN based on his Christian background so as to railroad a Moslem judge as CJN through an ex parte order obtained in the night from a kangaroo tribunal headed by a morally challenged Chairman are threats to national security and must dismantle all these threats before thinking of bringing about the diverse ethnoreligious multitudes in Nigeria to a meaningful and constructive national dialogue table. Anything short of this is simply what we can call ‘FOOD IS READY SO COME AND CHOP POLITICAL MEETING’ and nothing more.”
HURIWA cited constitutional provisions breached by President Buhari in his policy of appointments to include: 14(3) which states thus: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”
Also, the President for failing to appoint s representative of the South East of Nigeria in the National Defence Council has breached flagrantly Section 42 which states: “(1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions. (2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth. (3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law by reason only that the law imposes restrictions with respect to the appointment of any person to any office under the State or as a member of the armed forces of the Federation or member of the Nigeria Police Forces or to an office in the service of a body, corporate established directly by any law in force in Nigeria.”
HURIWA told President Muhammadu Buhari that his disrespect for the Pribciple of Rule of law is a threat to national security and a total violation of the SUPREME LAW OF NIGERIA in section 6 which states: “(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.”
HURIWA recalled that the security blueprint/document was prepared by the Office of the National Security Adviser just as according to the document, the government is willing to do everything possible to achieve political security, economic security, energy security, food security, labour security, health security, education security, environmental security and social security among others.
HURIWA noted that the security blueprint of President Muhammadu Buhari recebtly launched also noted that the nexus between political stability and economic prosperity called for appropriate measures to be taken to ensure the political security of Nigeria.
The Rights group said the document read as follows: “Our political security measures will encompass the following multi-sectoral responses: promote unity and national cohesion by fostering a culture of civility and inclusive public discourse; and ensure political stability based on multi-party democracy, grassroots political participation, political inclusiveness, strong democratic and political institutions and a free, fair and credible election process devoid of all kinds of violence.
“We will enhance good governance based on development, accountability, zero tolerance for corruption at all levels, sound regulatory mechanisms, due process, rule of law and human rights.
“We will promote non-discrimination among all Nigerians irrespective of gender, religion or ethnic origin; we will ensure sound fiscal federalism as a deliberate socio-economic strategy; we will also promote a mixed economy that encourages creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation in wealth generation while ensuring equity in resource distribution.
“We will ensure freedom of information, national orientation, de-radicalisation and political education of the populace as a political strategy to facilitate citizens’ commitment to our national security goals.
“We will strengthen law enforcement institutions and uphold the independence of the judiciary to check political impunity and related crimes in order to further entrench democracy.”
HURIWA dismissed the document “as a product of falsehood and hypocrisy which will never achieve nor is it even meant to achieve national harmony and national security amidst grave breaches of the Nigerian Constitution by the Federal government that arbitrarily proscribed as terror groups the Indigenous peoples of BIAFRA that peacefully seeks self determination in line with international law and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria for protesting the illegal clampdown of the religious groyp and the clamping into prolonged detention against binding court orders to release their leader Sheikh Ibraheem Elzaczacky even when the armed Fulani herdsmen which has killed over 6,000 innocent Nigerians and dispossess farmers of their ancestral lands are placated, protected, pampered and celebrated by the current federal government.
“HURIWA has therefore tasked President to immediately depriscribe IPOB and IMN because these are peaceful agitators whose members have suffered state-sponsored killings and repression from the current administration.”
