The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has alleged that politicians in government are undermining the fight against terrorism contrary to claims by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that politicians in opposition parties were sabotaging the fight.
Addressing journalists on the security situation in the country, Thursday in Abuja, HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “immediately activate mechanisms to unravel the role of fifth columnists who are undermining the gains of the current war on terror being undertaken by gallant operatives of the Nigerian military.”
Onwubike said, “It is our position that the recent killings and losses suffered by innocent citizens in the hands of armed terrorists may not have occurred if these daredevil dubious saboteurs were stopped from hatching and executing their diabolical plots and scheming against the hierarchies of the nation’s security forces and against the President.
“HURIWA appeals to the President and the National Assembly to initiate forensic investigations to ascertain whether the same ‘political lepers’ who midwifed the daredevil terror operations that culminated in the kidnap of over 300 school children from Chibok in Borno state are not back to the natural abode and are the characters contributing to the escalation of the conflicts in the North-east and thereby compounding the war on terror that the Nigerian Military were on the verge of ultimate victory.”
According to the national coordinator, “It is difficult to dismiss the general notion that the Nigerian State has not shown political will and commitment to the war on terror.
“It seems that not only have the real brains behind it not been prosecuted but are also being shielded. An ideology based crime does not end with the incarceration of the foot soldiers.
“Something is certainly not right. The political will is not there to end this war. There must be a political will and it must happen before these bad boys infiltrate Abuja,” he said.
HURIWA also condemned the release of repentant Boko Haram suspects by government stating: “There is no provision in the law books in Nigeria for criminals to be released. In fact, terrorists are worse than criminals. If a terrorist repents, yes it is good. The pastor or imam can preach to them to repent, but that is not our problem in the society. Our problem is justice.
“You don’t set killers free under any circumstances. They must go through the due process of the law. If they are thrown into jail and the President decides to exercise his prerogative of mercy or whatever, he can do that but he has to respect the constitution.
“One thing bad about the war on terror is to release people who have blood on their hands. You are making the fight difficult for the Nigerian Army. You don’t release Boko Haram terrorists and leave the victims on one side.”
Speaking further he said: “The victims are still there and they have not been rehabilitated. Who needs rehabilitation more? Where is the money generated as relief fund for victims of Boko Haram? A huge amount of money was realised. Where is the money?
“We have to be serious. There has to be accountability. They should stop releasing Boko Haram fighters. They should face the full weight of the law. You are releasing someone who has killed soldiers. The widows of these soldiers are there and you are releasing the killers of their husbands. Why are we so insensitive and irresponsible,” he queried.
