The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s continued absence from the country at a time of heightened insecurity, urging him to return immediately to personally direct Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts.
In a statement issued on Monday, HURIWA said the President, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, must either be physically present in Nigeria or formally hand over to the Vice President to act, warning that the nation’s war against terrorism was losing momentum.
“Mr. President must come back to Nigeria or properly hand over to his Vice to act as President so the nation’s war on terror can regain momentum,” said HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko.
He questioned the rationale behind the President’s foreign engagements while coordinated terrorist attacks were escalating across several states, including Niger, Ondo, Kwara and Edo.
“Where has it ever happened that a man whose house is on fire would go on frolicking in foreign lands and expect the fire to be extinguished magically?” Onwubiko asked.
HURIWA condemned what it described as coordinated bloody attacks in Niger State, Akure in Ondo State, and prolonged hostage situations in Kwara and Edo States, where terrorists were allegedly demanding huge ransoms from families.
The rights group expressed outrage over reports that at least 42 people were killed in attacks on Agwarra and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State, with children among those abducted.
According to HURIWA, the repeated attack on St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra, represents “an unforgivable failure of intelligence and protection of vulnerable children.”
“The same Catholic school attacked before was attacked again. This is intolerable and the Federal Government must be blamed for this outrageous failure,” Onwubiko stated.
HURIWA further demanded accountability from the heads of Nigeria’s security agencies, questioning why senior officials had not been sanctioned despite repeated security lapses.
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