South East insecurity: HURIWA advocates collective regional strategies
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Prominent Civil rights advocacy group- Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the Government of Anambra State and that of other South Eastern States for going it separately in their efforts to resolve the troubling and expanding frontiers of terrorism waged against Igbo people by a yet to be verified and determined forces which may not be far from members of the deep state backed by influential political players embedded in the central government.
HURIWA said the failure of the Governors of the South Eastern States to work synergistically and collectively as a formidable front with a common goal of identifying and then rooting out the forces responsible for the state of pure terrorism targeted against Igbo people of South East of Nigeria is the reason that the heightened state of insecurity is widening at the speed of lightening and moving from one portion of South East of Nigeris to the other.
The Rights group said the targeted killings, including the beheading of the House of Assembly member representing Aguata State Constituency of Anambra State, Mr. Okechukwu Okoye, has absolutely nothing to do with the agitation for self-determination or creation of the Sovereign entity called Biafra as canvassed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). HURIWA said the killings are pure acts of terrorism and must be tackled as such.
HURIWA said thus: “We absolutely condemn the rising state of targeted killings and destructions of public infrastructures in Anambra State and other parts of South East of Nigeria.
“We implore the Governors of the South East of Nigeria to forget about their political differences and think about the wellbeing of the motherland of Ndigbo and settle down to work out a common strategy to battle this scourge of coordinated and brazen violence which is directed at the heart of the Igbo people with the aim of destabilising the region and thereby making the hundreds of thousands of able bodied young men and women who are gainfully employed with their immeasurable skills to become jobless and for Igboland to become desolate.”
“The political leaders of Igboland beginning with the governors, elected legislators and civil rights leaders including traditional, religious and cultural leaders must now settle down in a noiseless place to work out the correct strategies for tackling these threats including the engagement of tested and trusted private security and forensic investigation operatives to uncover the people doing all these destruction and killings in the South East of Nigeria.”
HURIWA affirmed too that: “The Governors of the Igbo States must not spare resources to find out the exact forces that are destroying Igboland because this bloodbath is not about agitation for the freedom of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu or does these have anything to do with the activities of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) or even the Eastern Security Network. We believe that IPOB is not behind these attacks”.
“The South East leaders need to convince the armed forces to work with all groups irrespective of status to unravel the exact person’s unleashing violence on Igboland. If the Armed forces of Nigeria is not an occupying force in the South East of Nigeria, then they need to work in partnership with all groups determined to work towards restoration of stability, peace and civil governance devoid of insurgency of terrorists determined to destroy Igboland.
“We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to remove the labelling of IPOB as a terrorist group so the group alongside many others in the South East can help out to eradicate the pestilence of terrorism afflicting Igboland”.
HURIWA recalled that Anambra State governor. Chukwuma Soludo had condemned the killing and beheading of Mr Okechukwu Okoye, a member of the state House of Assembly and Director of his campaign organisation, Mr Cyril Chiegboka.
The heads without (trunks) of Okoye and Chiegboka were discovered around Chisco park junction in Amichi, Nnewi South Local Government Area on Saturday. Okoye, representing Aguata 1 State Constituency and Chiegboka, were abducted on May 15 by yet to be identified persons. Okoye hailed from Isuofia in Aguate LGA, the same community as Soludo.
HURIWA recalled that Governor Soludo expressed sadness over the gruesome deaths and vowed to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book.
He promised N10 million reward for any person or group who would give credible information that could lead to the arrest of the murderers. According to a statement by Mr Christian Aburime, Chief Press Secretary to Soludo, Soludo received with shock and deep sadness the news of the gruesome murder of Okechukwu Okoye, member representing Aguata II Constituency at the State House of Assembly and his aide, Cyril Chiegboka.
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“Gov Soludo condoles with his kinsmen of Isuofia, noting that it is probably the same criminal gang that attacked him and killed three policemen at Isuofia two years ago that are once again on the prowl.”
HURIWA, however, thinks the Government of Anambra State fresh as it is, must do so much to convince other South Eastern States and their Governors to be on one page about facilitating and working out a security template for Igboland and to implement far reaching mechanisms for uncovering the forces carrying out the political and economic war against Igboland.
The Rights group said ad-hoc measures can’t tackle the situation but a holistic and well-articulated strategic template.
According to the media statement by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA National Coordinator, the organisation is worried that the Anambra State governor is really not adopting the right kind of strategic approaches to wipe out the hardened terrorists carrying out the attacks.
HURIWA is asking the governor to consult widely and to get the South East Governors to accept to pursue the solution to the insecurity as a common agenda.
HURIWA said: “For instance, the Anambra State governor announced the Constitution of a fact finding Committee on the disturbances in Anambra State but it doesn’t look like the committee has hit the ground running because some of their members like Udenta Udenta are busy campaigning for Northern politicians to win the Presidential slots of PDP.
“So we ask again: where is the template for solving this problem in Anambra State and by extension the South East of Nigeria? We plead with the Anambra State governor to do more to bring up a functional panacea and avoid media showmanship. The Anambra State governor should not disappoint his people who has a lot of faith in his capacity to transform Anambra State.
