Supposed herdsmen ambush military, kill three people in Benue village attack

Three people were killed in an attack by Fulani herdsmen on the Ikobi community in the Apa local government area of Benue State on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

Operation Whirl Stroke (OPW) personnel were sent to the area after the attack to stop further assaults. The military, according to neighborhood members, gallantly resisted the invaders.

The killer herders ambushed the OPWS troops in Mbappa, Gwer West local government of the state, but the troops were able to defeat the attackers despite the fact that three of the soldiers were hurt.

In separate attacks just last week, armed Fulani militants killed Superintendent of Police (SP), Mamud Abubakar, the Divisional Police Officer of the Gwer West local government area, along with two other policemen, two children, and three women.

The area has been under siege by killer herders for the past few days, and some analysts attribute the attacks to remarks made by the deposed Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, and 51 other people, who accused the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, of using livestock guards and the laws against open grazing and ranches establishment to drive Fulanis out of the state.

The President of the Tiv Youth Organization, Timothy Hembaor, discussed the tragic incident with journalists in Makurdi. He described the attack on the military personnel in Gwer West as senseless and barbaric and questioned why the herders would ambush security personnel whose job it is to maintain peace.

Hembaor urged the appropriate security authorities to quickly start an inquiry into Sanusi and the other Fulani elders whose recent comments, in his opinion, have encouraged the herders in Benue State to commit more atrocities.

“It is not by chance that armed Fulani’s are currently operating in Benue State. They must have been briefed by the senior citizens who just petitioned President Buhari to remove Governor Ortom. Performing an investigation will undoubtedly reveal the facts. In Benue, we are aware of who is attacking us.

Shande stated that “Sanusi and the others must be held accountable for the recent uptick in attacks against our people.

Three days ago, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), a socio-cultural organization, raised the alarm that the deposed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, and 51 other people should be held responsible if anything untoward happened to the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, regarding the alleged killing of pastoralists in Nasarawa State.

Additionally, the group urged the Federal Government to take action to stop herdsmen attacks on defenseless farmers in Benue State and other Middle Belt regions.

Killer herders have attacked security personnel in Benue State on numerous occasions over the past few years, including the ambush on the military in Gwer West.

Supposed kidnappers murder the women and children of the traditional monarch of Taraba

The traditional leader is renowned for encouraging locals to refuse paying ransom to criminals who kidnapped their loved ones

The wives and five children of Sani Muhammed, the district chief of Mutum Biu, were killed by gunmen who are believed to be bandits.

Mutum Biu is the administrative center of Taraba State’s Gasol Local Government area.

Ibrahim Ya’u, a senior Gasol Emirate official, informed reporters of the event on Saturday in Jalingo, the state’s capital.

On Saturday night, the killings were also confirmed by the state’s police

“Reliable sources have reported that seven of the Emir of M/eight biyu’s family members were murdered by their attackers. Usman Abdullahi, the state police spokesperson, stated that one individual had fled from the forest.

One of those taken hostage together with the district head’s family, according to Mr. Ya’u, was able to escape.

After the gunmen raided the homes of the monarch, a retired judge, and a second-class chief, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the district head’s family was abducted in Jalingo.

According to Mr. Ya’u, the bodies of the traditional ruler’s family members were placed in the district head’s residence in Mutumbiyu on Friday in preparation for Islamic burial on Saturday.

After the gunmen raided the homes of the monarch, a retired judge, and a second-class chief, the district head’s family was abducted in Jalingo.

According to Mr. Ya’u, the bodies of the traditional ruler’s family members were placed in the district head’s residence in Mutumbiyu on Friday in preparation for Islamic burial on Saturday.

Residents of the town had said that the attackers targeted the monarch because he had aided local security forces and the Taraba Marshall, a state-sponsored vigilante group that has been battling local criminals, in their efforts.

Suspected herdsmen attack Plateau community, leaving three people dead

Suspected herdsmen attacked the Maiyanga community in the Bokkos LGA of Plateau State on Monday where three deaths were verified.
It was learned that two additional people were shot during the attack that took place on Sunday night.

Bulus Sule, a resident of Maiyanga community, confirmed the incident to The PUNCH in Jos on Monday and stated that the injured were transported to the hospital to receive treatment.

Sule stated, “The assailants came and attacked the residents of the Maiyanga neighborhood last night (Sunday). Three people were killed by gunfire, while two others were wounded. Just too much shooting took place. The community is suffering right now.

Ilya, a different community member, decried the murders of the locals.

The security personnel, he claimed, were informed of the attack and arrived in the neighborhood a few hours after the shooters had left.

He urged the administration to step up security in the area to prevent further assaults on the populace.

When reached regarding the attack at the time of making up this report, Alabo Alfred, the spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, could not be reached for comments.

Suspected herdsmen Attack Tiv communities in the wake of Nasarawa Bombing

Following a recent bombardment of individuals thought to be herders on the border of Benue and Nasarawa States, it has been claimed that suspected Fulani herdsmen have exacted revenge on Tiv communities in Nasarawa State.

This follows comments by the deposed Emir Sanusi concerning the killings in which he had earlier alleged that the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom was responsible for the alleged airstrike in Rukubi, a village on the border between Nasarawa and Benue States which left 56 persons dead with others injured.

Emir Sanusi said “All the air strikes that took place in Nasarawa were masterminded from Makurdi. We must hold him responsible since we know his position against Fulani. It’s only an investigation that will avail him of the allegations. Why won’t t there be an investigation to reveal who masterminded the bombardment? And who gives orders to the Air force to always launch these airstrikes?

However, the Tiv community of Nasarawa State claimed yesterday that suspected armed herdsmen were continuing to attack and murder innocent Tiv people in the southern portion of the state as retaliation for the recent bombing.

Mr Peter Ahemba, president of the Tiv Development Association (TIDA) in Nasarawa State, raised the alarm yesterday in a press conference in Lafia. As a result, he urged the federal and state governments to take immediate action to put an end to the ongoing attacks and killings.

He further said that heavily armed herdsmen had singled out and attacked the Tiv people, highlighting the fact that numerous innocent Tiv farmers had already been killed and driven from their homes in the state’s Doma, Keana, and Obi Local Government Areas.

Ahemba emphasized that the intelligence report available to the TIDA leadership showed that the heavily armed herders were preparing to launch more lethal attacks on Tiv settlements throughout the state’s southern zone, as well as portions of the Kokona and Nasarawa Local Government Areas, in order to ensure the complete annihilation of the Tiv nation in the state.

“Thousands of our people have been displaced from across Doma, Keana, and Obi LGAs of the state and armed herders have massacred scores of our people in the previous few days.”

“Chabo village has been devastated to nothing but ashes. As the entire Tiv community in Doma has been forced to flee their homes and numerous others are being slain in isolated communities, a fatal attack was launched on Ajo village in Keana LGA, according to the TIDA President.

The Tiv people of the state were unaware of the recent airstrike that was being used as justification for the widespread killings of the Tiv farmers and destruction of their property, he said, describing the attacks on them as barbaric.

“We request assistance from the federal and state governments, who should provide sufficient security personnel to our communities in the impacted LGAs. All escape routes are still blocked by the herders, who are currently killing our people like animals, according to Ahemba.

Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, has referred to accusations linking his administration to the deaths caused by an airstrike on a community in Nasarawa State as malicious.

The governor claimed that neither he nor his administration were involved in the terrible event.

He insisted that he did not give anyone the command to commit the deed and that he lacked the authority to direct the air raid operation  which resulted in the killings

The governor said it was sheer mischief for someone to try and tie him into something he had no knowledge of and questioned why he would be associated with the occurrence.

Attacks continue in Benue – Ex Polytechnic Deputy Rector Killed

Just weeks after a police officer and 22 others were reportedly killed, with another 12 in critical condition in an attack in Gbeji community and police station in Ukum Local Government  Area of Benue State, a former Deputy Rector of the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo was shot dead by unknown assailants along the busy Otukpo – Eke Ugbokolo – Otukpa highway

His death comes after the Information Officer of Ukum local govenrment was also shot dead by unknown assailants who trailed the deceased to his house according to Steve Ayua who spoke to the Vanguard Newspaper.

Meanwhile, the former Rector was reportedly killed while on his way back from Ugbokolo from Otukpo in Benue State whilst in the company of his wife.

According to reports, the deceased travelled for a public engagement and ran into an ambush by armed men. He was flagged down and upon making the stop, was shot and killed. There was also an attempt to kidnap his wife but she was abandoned upon the sighting of approaching military personnel.

These series of events also point to a deterioration of security architecture in the area – as another lecturer was also killed a few months ago from a similar incident and numerous passengers who ply the road have also been either killed, kidnapped or shot at by these gunmen.

MASSACRE OF SOLDIERS BY TERRORISTS: YOUR NSA, SERVICE CHIEFS ARE INCOMPETENT -HURIWA Tells Buhari

Frontline Civil rights advocacy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack all his military service chiefs, the Director General of the Department of State Services,  the Inspector-General of Police and the National Security Adviser Major General Babagana Monguno(rtd) for gross incompetence and for crass dereliction of duty.  

The Rights group said President Muhammadu Buhari ought to stop his frequent lamentations over his failings in the area of security because that is not why he was elected but to take immediate and comprehensive measures to dismiss any or all of his service chiefs now since they have manifested through their actions and inactions that they have not got what it takes to defeat terrorists just as the security Chiefs most of whom are Moslem Northerners are behaving like they are aiding and abetting the successes recorded so far by Islamic terrorists abd the Fulani terrorists. 

HURIWA reacted against the backdrop of the massacre if soldiers in Shiroro Dan a strategic National asset by the Islamists terrorists known as boko haram even as the Prominent Civil rights advocacy group-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA accused the President of abandoning his duty to gallivanting and globetrot meaningless over the World. 

HURIWA recalled that  the Nigerian Army has confirmed the attack in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State by bandits who killed scores of security operatives, including soldiers and police.

According to reports, at least 43 people, including 30 soldiers and seven mobile police personnel and civilians were killed when the armed men stormed the Gold mining site. They also abducted several Chinese nationals.

Confirming the attack, the Nigerian Army, in a statement issued by its Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said some bandits were also gunned down during the attack.“Sadly, a number of personnel paid the supreme price in the fierce firefight that ensued.“Subsequently, the location has been reinforced and troops are on the trail of the criminals with some already neutralized.The GOC 1 Division has moved to the location to take charge of the follow up operations”, the statement added.

HURIWA however said the Army should cover her face in shame that it is unable to defend the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria even when the defence sector collects the giant allocations every year from the federally released annual budgets and wondered why despite the fact that the governmenxt made claims of buying equipment from all over the World, the Islamists are being allowed to crush a trained and professional Army such as the Nigeria Army just as the Rights group said it is now certain that some saboteurs within the Army may be the moles selling the Country out to Jihadists. HURIWA has therefore called for the sack of all the service chiefs and is asking Nigerians not to die in silence but to stage protests to demand action from President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the widening insecurity in Nigeria. HURIWA said it is unfortunate that Nigerians are letting the government abandon it’s statutory duty to the citizens but failing to actively protest the heightened state of insecurity in the Country and demand the dismissal of compromised security Chiefs and the National Security Adviser who has absolutely nothing to offer. 

EXCLUSIVE: How Attack Helicopter Secured Terrorists And Sprayed Southern Kaduna Villagers With Bullets

By Beevan Magoni & Steven Kefas

I woke up on the 5th of June to see “Owo” trending on Twitter, thinking maybe the governor of the state Rotimi Akeredolu had done something a typical Nigerian government official would do, which would not surprise me, and, to which I didn’t care to take a look at. I found the real story after going through my WhatsApp status updates from contacts. Indeed, it was a horror, the pictures that confronted me.

Two days later, I found out that, three hours after the Owo attack, something worse happened in one of our villages in Southern Kaduna. The military shot at unarmed villages that were under Fulani militia’s attack and secured the militia. 

THE JOURNEY

As is the norm with me, some stories strike more than just a chord. Some things should not happen in a democratic society, and even if not so, the 21st century should present us with better opportunities for conflict resolution.

I left Abuja a couple of minutes to 7 PM after the day’s tasks have been completed and headed to Kaduna. One notable thing on the road that night was an accident with survivors in it, but no one dared stop to help them, because of the fear of kidnappers and the elements of destabilization in that death trap called Abuja-Kaduna Express Way. Even my soul felt pity for those trapped in that vehicle.

Minutes later would be our turn. We were two in the vehicle when at 9:45 PM, we had a flat tyre that left us stranded on that road for an hour. I got to Kaduna minutes past 11 PM, crashed at a friend’s place, and continued my journey to the destination where a Nigerian Military helicopter was said to have shot and killed people.

KADUNA-CROSSING-MAIKORI VILLAGE

At first, I thought the attack happened somewhere close to Kaduna city, and at most, somewhere around Kajuru which is about 60KM from the city. Wrong!

First, my guide told me he was not in the village where the attack happened any longer. He had moved on to be with the IDPs in Kaduna and asked me to contact another survivor who would lead me to the village. The second guide was in Kachia, and had to take a cab to Crossing where we met.

“Oga Sir, are we leaving the car here?” he asked.

“No! Why should we leave it here bro?” I inquired.

“It is because the road is not good and the place is far…” 

We would go on to travel in the car for convenience, but the motorable road came to an end at Maro which is about 25KM at least, from Crossing. We crossed into Ugakala, drove past quite a number of settlements for almost an hour, and decided to park at Chibiya village when our guide noticed how difficult it was navigating such a jungle. He pleaded with his kinsmen he met on bikes, borrowed their bikes, and rode on one with the cameraman while I and one passenger of the other bike rode on the other for another 30 minutes till we got to Maikori village.

HOW THE ATTACKS HAPPENED

A Sunday is a resting day for these agrarian communities. After Sunday service, it is a well-known fact that Southern Kaduna Christian communities see Sunday as a holiday where you don’t have to work or toil for anything. It is mostly all about going to Church, fellowship, coming back home, resting, or going to the village markets to relax and, or catch up with old friends and families.

According to one of the eye witnesses from Maikori Village,

“We were resting under a tree when we heard gunshots from Ungwan Sarki. We immediately mobilized to know what was happening and were told Fulani men had attacked the village. In the process of mobilizing ourselves to go help our brothers, we saw an influx of men on motorbikes. There were over 100 motorbikes carrying two people each, at least!”

Eyewitness

Another eyewitness said,

“They came in their large numbers. They were many, with sophisticated weapons and we were ready to confront them. It is our village. It is our streams and rivers. It is our farms. It is our bushes. Even though they used to graze here, they don’t know these places better than we do. So we were strategizing on how to defend ourselves when all of a sudden a helicopter came and started to shoot at us, while the attackers were left to burn our houses!”

Eyewitness

An elderly woman in her 70s said, “We thought the helicopter was there to help us but it was not. It opened fire on us as we ran. We were running and hiding under shrubs. If this were to be a dry season, the casualty figure would have been worse than this.

“Up till now, we don’t stay in our houses anymore. We are here because we are hungry. We stay in the bushes and not in the houses. We just came to get some corn to grind and then go back to the bushes where we are hiding. We fear they would come back.”

70 years old survivor

Multiple eyewitnesses confirmed the helicopter chased them into the bushes, shelled them, and left the terrorists to loot their barns and burn any structure they could. This operation that lasted for two hours had two people killed and one injured. Maniya Inuwa was killed by the terrorists, while Titus Yusuf was shot and killed by the helicopter. Shadrach Joshua was also shot by the helicopter.

Every effort to see Joshua was not successful, but luckily, he called me on the phone past 8PM just as I had arrived in Abuja. Apparently, Joshua woke up that morning, was taken to the hospital for treatment, and later hidden in the bush perhaps the Fulanis come back to re-attack the village again.

The attack on Ungwan Sarki claimed two lives, at Maikori two lives and one injury from the helicopter’s shelling, and thirty four lives at Dogo Noma. 

The people at Dogo Noma were in a market square having a good time when two men arrived on bikes, surveyed the environment, and left. Minutes later, they were rounded up in the market. Those who tried to escape were shot down while quite a number of them were captured numbering twenty-nine. To date, others cannot be accounted for.

KADUNA STATE GOVERNMENT’S ACCOUNT

The Kaduna state government had kept mum for four (4) days since the Sunday, 5th of June’s attack in Dogon Noma, Maikori, and Ungwan Sarki communities. The government only decided to speak when it became obvious that Southern Karuna was trending on Twitter and other social media platforms. The helicopter story was also spreading like wildfire. 

The government speaking through its Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan acknowledged that there was an attack on Sunday 5th June but didn’t explain why it took her four days to comment. The government took time to mention the names of the victims killed during the attack but denied that the helicopter shot at the villagers. It said the helicopter belongs to the Nigerian air force and was on the ground to engage the terrorists.

What the state government has not been able to show to the world is proof that terrorists were killed by the so-called military helicopter. It is baffling to say that a military attack helicopter was on the ground to repel terrorists yet not a single terrorist was killed.

This is not the first time victims of Fulani terrorist attacks are alleging sighting helicopters during attacks. In 2018, communities in the same Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state narrated how they sighted a white-painted helicopter landing in the bushes near them prior to the attacks. There was a video to that effect, where community members narrated their ordeals in the hands of the terrorists.

In June 2020, a captured terrorist confessed during interrogation in a viral video that a certain white painted helicopter was supplying them with weapons for operations.

In February 2022 a certain helicopter flying at low level shot a teenage boy in Kagoro, a community near Kafanchan, the boy survived with an injured arm.

The onion of proof that the terrorists are not in possession of air assets lies in the Nigerian Air Force. The Air Force must as a matter of urgency clear the air with satisfactory evidence otherwise the testimony of victims and survivors will continue to shape public discussions on terrorist attacks in Nigeria as it has never been heard that terrorists used planes or helicopters to visit their victims.

Two weeks before the Sunday 5th June attack, a retired senior intelligence officer had told MBT in confidence about the presence of a certain white painted helicopter which he said was suspicious and that it might be used for nefarious activities. 

He said the white chopper is often seen landing at the Air Force Base in Kaduna. Even though he could not tell much about the ownership of the chopper, he said going by its flight nature and timing, he suspects the chopper was being used to either provide cover or facilitate the operations of terrorists or used to kill targeted people in the state.

With the statement earlier released by the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan crediting the Nigerian Air Force Base with the helicopter being a rescue helicopter, it is left for them to verify who was the pilot of the helicopter, who gave the command for the helicopter to go to the rescue of the people which ended up killing one person and injuring another person and also providing cover for ground terrorists to kill and burn down houses.

Also, every helicopter has a visible number for easy identification, but this specific helicopter which is white in color does not fly close to the ground as would do other military helicopters. In Zangon Kataf for instance, the presence of the same white helicopter signals that an attack is imminent. This can be confirmed by residents of the local government which leaves us with no option but to request the Nigeria Air Force Base to do a proper investigation to identify this helicopter and its owner.

If the Nigerian Air Force Base cannot investigate, then we call on the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology to do due diligence. Both NAF-Base and NCAT are in Kaduna and are supposed to be privy to information on any flight within the territory in question!

RECOVERED HIGH CALIBRE AMMUNITIONS FROM TERROR SCENE

Middle Belt Times correspondent came in contact with some high calibre ammunitions recovered from the scene of the attack by the villagers. The sizes and shapes of the ammunition look different from the conventional AK-47 bullet shells usually found after attacks in southern Kaduna and elsewhere. These ammunitions look bigger than normal.

Middle Belt Times reached out to a retired senior Air Force  officer who agreed to share his views on the matter on condition of strict anonymity. When he sighted a photograph of one of the ammunitions recovered from the attack site, he said the bullets are either 30 or 50mm calibre round mostly fired by machine guns mounted on attack aircrafts. Speaking on the yet to be identified attck helicopter alleged to be providing cover for terrorists, the retired Air Commodore said the government could deny such allegations as long as no clear evidence to hold onto.

The government could deny the helicopter because there are many around. Even the Nigerian Air Force has had some close incidents with unknown aircrafts. What would be overwhelming is the aircraft shot down else anything you put out can be denied.

Retired Air Force officer.

He went further to state that such ammunitions have no business in a rural community not at war.

Such high calibre weapons do not have any business in Kajuru except if the terrorists were also flying attack aircrafts or riding on armoured vehicles.” He said.

Retired Air Force officer…

Middle Belt Times carried out further checks on the 30 and 50mm calibre round and discovered that such ammunitions are typically not used  against personnel, but rather as an anti-materiel or armor-piercing round. “Rounds of this size can be effective against lightly armored vehicles as well as fortified bunkers. 30 mm is also a popular calibre for shipboard close-in weapons systems, such as the Russian AK-630 and Dutch Goalkeeper CIWS.” [Wikipedia].

Similarly, the 50mm calibre round is used typically as anti-materiel or armoured-piercint ammunition mostly mounted on attack aircrafts. The question begging for answer is, what could such dangerous weapons be doing in an agrarian community not at war with anybody?

CONCLUSION

While this investigation may not go down well with the powers that be, Middle Belt Times is not out to foment trouble. We are asking every stakeholder to get to grips with themselves and do the needful. Yesterday, it was AK47 riffles. Today, it is a helicopter. We do not know what befalls our communities tomorrow, maybe, chemical or biological weapons.

A stitch in time saves nine!

INSECURITY: NIGERIA NEEDS A WORKING FORMULA

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

“Objectives are not fate; they are direction. They are not commands; they are commitments. They do not determine the future; they are means to mobilize the resources and energies of the business for the making of the future.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

In about a week’s time, the two most prominent political parties namely the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party will select/anoint/elect their Presidential candidates for the 2023 Presidential poll. 

The aspirants have since started campaigns by travelling around the Country seeking out the support of the elected delegates who are to nominate the candidates of the political parties. 

In the APC, the aspirants are saying many things but most of them do not have workable templates on most of the promises they are making verbally to the delegates and to  Nigerians. Some of the Presidential aspirants like Nyesom Wike are as intellectually empty as it can ever be in the area of preferring practicable panacea to the crises caused by the National climate of insecurity and terrorism by and non State actors. Nyesom Wike who is governor of Rivers State is lucky to have inherited the Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s security formula in Rivers State in which the former Rivers State’s helmsman and now a Frontline aspirant for the position of a Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress implemented that made Rivers State during his eight years reign as the most crime free State in the 36 States of the Federation. It is not known that the successor to Rotimi Amaechi as Governor of Rivers State Nyesim Wike introduced any other strategy different from the larger security template put in place by Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. 

We will come to the issue of the blueprints for development that the aspirants have articulated but first let us look at the issue of whether the incumbent President has a favourite Candidate to succeed him or not. 

The President himself recently confirmed that he indeed has one most favoured successor but that he will keep the identity close to his heart since he does not want to jeopardise the security of the person. 

Incidentally, the special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, says his principal has a favourite candidate to succeed him in 2023, but will not mention the person.

Adesina made the revelation during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday.

So far ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba  have joined the presidential race on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Of these bunch, the immediate past minister of Transportation Mr Amaechi seems to be poles apart as the most significant political Son of President Muhammadu Buhari in terms of who amongst all his appointees allocated the most strategic national assets like Railways and Transportation University in Daura the homestead of President Muhammadu Buhari. So if being favourite is to be rated by who loves the President and his people the more, Rotimi Amaechi is obviously the number 1. The rest are hypocrites. But let us hear what the President’s Media minder said. 

Mr. Adesina, an ordained Deacon of a Pentacostal Church, who said he is not card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), touched on the sensitive matter of who is indeed President Muhammadu Buhari’s favoured successor in 2023. But he stopped short of naming names. 

Adesina said, “In a previous interview when the president was asked whether he had a favorite candidate, he answered yes; but he will not mention him because mischief may happen to that person.

“That shows you that the president himself is interested in the process and he has a preferred candidate; but whether he will impose his candidate is what you can no determine at the moment.

Political pundits believe that if royalty is the yardstick for President Muhammadu Buhari to decide his favourite then the immediate past minister of Transportation Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi will be amongst the top most favourites. The then former governor of Rivers State sacrificed so much by way of resources to campaign vigorously for the then APC Presidential Candidate in 2014 before the incumbent President cruised to victory at the polls in 2015. 

Few days back the Abuja civil Society community including the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) converged in Abuja to deliberate on the State of the nation and to set agenda for the Presidential candidates of the parties that will emerge from the primaries this week. The groups expressed happiness that Aspirant Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of the All Progressives Congress has made the issue of insecurity his sacred mandate and the Centre of his blueprints. It is not a secret that the number one problem facing Nigeria is insecurity.  The coalition of civil rights campaigners also stated that they agreed with Rotimi Amaechi’s claims of what programmes and steps he took ad the then Governor of Rivers State to tackle insecurity.  

The then Ricers State governor who is the immediate past Minister of Transportation and APC presidential aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday said he tackled insecurity while he was Rivers governor by equipping the military and the police. The Human rights stakeholders said Rotimi Amaechi is correct to make the claim.

Recall that Mr Amaechi spoke while visiting the Deji of Akure, Aladetonyibo Aladelusi Ogunlade, at his palace in Ondo State.

He also paid a private visit to former presidential candidate, Olu Falae. Mr Amaechi later proceeded to Ibadan, where he paid a visit to the Olubadan of Ibadan, Olalekan Balogun, and met with delegates and party faithful at the Oyo State APC secretariat.

The minister said if elected as president, he would be detribalized and would ensure that the yearnings and aspirations of all Nigerians are protected, irrespective of tribe and religion.

“You recognized us for who we are, you recognized us not as a Yoruba candidate, not as an Hausa candidate, not as an Igbo candidate or Ikwerre where I come from, but as a Nigerian candidate,” Mr Amaechi told the Deji of Akure.

“I am detribalized, I don’t know Yoruba or Hausa, I just know Nigeria, and everybody should be treated like that, there should be no segregation,” he said.

Mr Amaechi said as president, he would deploy his wealth of experience in governance and fighting insecurity.

“Your Majesty sir, It is not enough to say I was a former Governor for two terms, former Speaker for two terms, and all of that. The question to ask is what did I do with those positions? Because when I say I come with experience, I actually come with experience.

“Quite a lot of those who are contesting or aspiring to be the President don’t come with that kind of experience that I come with. I have governed a state where there was insecurity.

“When I was governor of Rivers state, they were kidnapping two months old babies.”

Mr Amaechi said he was just a few weeks in office when two high-profile kidnappings took place in Rivers.

“The first they confronted me with was the kidnap of a prominent Nigerian, a Rivers man, Prof. Nimi Briggs, one time Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt.

“The next person they kidnapped was the wife of late Chief Lulu Briggs, prominent people, and I was barely few weeks or months old in office, I rescued them.

“So we equipped the military and police, we trained them and made sure that at any point in time you kidnap anybody, we are in the position to rescue the person and punish the kidnappers.

“So I am experienced in finding solutions to insecurity,” he said.

Responding, the Deji of Akure, described Mr Amaechi as a grassroots politician who knows the needs of his people.

“You have already passed through the hierarchy of politics, from Speaker, two times. All these two times position has a meaning,” said the Deji, putting two fingers up and adding that it signifies peace.

“In a good democracy setting, you should not have any problems at all,” the monarch continued.

“Currently, you have transformed the Ministry of Transportation, and I want the rail to come to Akure with the Seaport in Ondo. Whatever it takes for the rail to come to Akure, we will do it, and whatever it takes for the Seaport to come to Ondo, the people of Ondo will do it.

“We are not doubting you at all because you passed through all the stages. You did what you were supposed to do at each stage, all those that elected you, they did because of your integrity and for the love you have for your people. Not for your people alone, but for the nation.

“Like you said earlier, you are not from Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba alone, you are a typical Nigerian and we take it like that and when you get there, I know you will be a typical Nigerian not one-sided,” he said.

The conference of human rights practitioners championed by the National Coordinator of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko said the security blueprint canvassed by Mr. ROTIMI CHIBUIKE AMAECHI is noteworthy just as the activists said the endorsement of Aspirant Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi by the immediate past Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai demonstrates the validity of the security templates that the aspirant has been talking about. 

It must be recalled that as the consultations with delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the country by Presidential Aspirant and former Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi continue to attract high profile support, a former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai has endorsed the former Minister, stating that his loyalty and love for Nigeria and humanity is unmatched.

Gen. Buratai who is currently, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, gave this endorsement at a parley with delegates of the APC in Bauchi, Wednesday night, when he and other dignitaries accompanied the Presidential hopeful, Chibuike Amaechi to solicit delegates’ support in Bauchi ahead of the party’s primaries.

Burutai stated that he was spurred to give his support to Amaechi due to his outstanding profile and vast experience in governance.

He said, “You can see from the introduction, the experience of our Presidential aspirant. The profile of Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is quite intimidating. He has proven to be a sound administrator, a versatile leader, a good strategist and a politician per excellence, who has shown good qualities in all areas he had worked. As Speaker, as Governor, as Minister and also first among equals during his tenure as Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, as well as the dexterity and the quality of the campaign (for President Buhari) that he led on two occasions. That is why I am giving him my full support.

“He did that diligently with all his determination, loyalty and of course with love for Nigeria and love for humanity irrespective of what religion you belong to. This is quite commendable, that’s why he’s here today to solicit for your votes. From what you have heard about him, I believe you know that he’s the man of the moment. He is the right choice. So, I urge you to make the right choice and vote for him,” Buratai said.

Addressing the delegates, Amaechi said he is the only aspirant in the party with impressive records that would defeat the opposition party. He urged the delegates to vote for him for the overall benefit of all Nigerians.

According to him, “This is the moment of decision. For twenty two years I have held public office, as Speaker, as Governor and as Minister. And in all of these, you will see my footprint. There’s a railway construction going on from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. It includes Bauchi and it’s called the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway. If you vote for me, that project will be completed and it will create employment. So vote for me, make me the candidate of the party. I doubt that the other aspirants have the capacity to defeat me, If you vote for me I will defeat PDP.”

Earlier, at a visit to the Emir of Bauchi, HRM Dr. Rilwan Suleiman Adamu, Amaechi used the occasion to re-emphasize his commitment to deliver on infrastructure and tackle insecurity if elected.

“Your Highness, I am here to seek for your blessings, to appeal to the Bauchi delegates to give me their votes on the day of the primaries, because there is no aspirant in our party that is as prepared as I am to be the President of Nigeria.

“I have the energy, I have the capability, I have the knowledge and the strength to be the President of Nigeria. I have the experience of what the problems are and what the solutions should be and I’m seeking your support to provide solutions to those problems.

“One of the things I did to fight militancy in Port Harcourt was to create employment. I will introduce agricultural programmes to create jobs for the people. I will provide infrastructure in Bauchi, I am full of experience, If you vote for me I will chase the criminals away. I did it in Port Harcourt and Rivers State and I am prepared to do it again. I will do my best to restore security in the country. Please tell your people to vote for me and I will bring that experience to bear, Amaechi said.

HURIWA as well as the over 36 register Civil Rights Advocacy Groups said the qualitative security blueprint of Mr. ROTIMI CHIBUIKE AMAECHI is commendable and should be looked on by other aspirants because it is obvious that our most fundamental human development issue destroying the body polity is insecurity. In fairness, most participants at the CSO’s parley in Abuja at the Weekend hosted by HURIWA somewhere at Wuse two, were of the unanimity of opinion that if truth be told, Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has the most acceptable security template to take Nigeria out of the WILDERNESS OF INSECURITY AND TERRORISM within a short time frame because of his Profound commitment to the thematic area of HUMAN AND NATIONAL SECURITY. 

And as Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out, commitment is the single virtue a charismatic leader of a nation needs to take his nation to the frontiers of advancement and sustainability. 

*EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA and was NATIONAL COMMISSIONER of the NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.

Explosion: HURIWA calls for dismissal of Kano police commissioner 

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Thursday, demanded the sacking of the Commissioner of Police in Kano State, Mr. Sama’ila Dikko, for jumping to conclusion that the explosion that rocked the Sabon Gari area of the state on Tuesday was a gas explosion and not a bomb blast.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, lambasted the police boss for declaring the root cause of the disaster without any investigation, even as residents and eyewitnesses strongly said on live television interviews that the explosion was as a result of a bomb blast.

The explosion rocked the Aba Road of the area in the early hours of Tuesday, killing nine 

with many others injured.

The state Commissioner of Police (Dikko) had while giving an update on the incident, said it was a gas explosion from a welder’s shop close to a nursery and primary school.

But eyewitnesses disagreed with the police boss saying the incident “was not a gas explosion, but a bomb, due to the high-density vibration,” emphasising that it shook houses located about five kilometre away from the scene of the explosion.

Reacting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “Eyewitness spoke with Arise TV showed and they contradicted what the police said.  The witnesses said it was a suicide bomber that detonated a bomb killing himself and many others but the police lied.

“HURIWA calls for the dismissal of the police commissioner for jumping to conclusion on the cause of the explosion even before any sort of investigation is done.

“We also call for a judicial commission of inquiry by the Kano State Government together with the Federal Government and Southern Governors’ Forum because the target of the bomb blast were Igbos and other Southerners that dominate Sabon Gari Kano. 

“We also call for independent forensic probe to be done too to determine the actual cause of the explosion that eye witnesses are now attributing to bomb blasts 

“The police must show discipline and professionalism without jumping into conclusion but by exercise diligence and scrutiny in its investigations.”

May 18, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

HURIWA TO GOV. TAMBUWAL, SOKOTO COLLEGE MANAGEMENT: YOU HAVE BLOOD OF DEBORAH IN YOUR HANDS

… Carpets President Muhammadu Buhari’s conspiratorial silence on the STONE AGE BARBARIC MURDER OF DEBORAH SAMUEL YAKUBU

Frontline Civil rights advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned the conspiratorial silence for over 24 hours of President Muhammadu Buhari over the brutal hacking to death of a 200 level Christian Student of the Sokoto College of Education Miss  Deborah Samuel Yakubu by Islamic extremists in the school over alleged blasphemy.

Warning that reprisals may become inevitable  if the case of murder of Deborah in Sokoto is swept under the carpets like similar cases of murders of Christians over alleged blasphemy  by Islamists in Kubwa Abuja and twice in Kano State, the Rights group told Sokoto state governor Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and the hierarchy of the ill fated school that the blood of the innocent Christian girl murdered in broad daylight is on their heads and generations unborn won’t forgive them for seemingly ominous inaction. HURIWA is by this statesman urging that the strongest deterrent action provided by law is applied against these killers of Deborah who are even captured on video recordings or else the Federal Government has unwittingly authorised that reprisals should occur and these violence will do Nigeria no good because religious violence could lead to a civil war. 

“HURIWA is very much aware, that President Muhammadu Buhari did not mince words to condemn Indigenous Peoples of Biafra(IPOB) even without any scientific evidence linking them remotely or otherwise to the gruesome and despicable beheading of the soldiers’ couple massacred by unknown gunmen reportedly on their way to a traditional wedding in the South East of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari even gave order that the killers be hunted down and dealt with decisively by military forces.”

HURIWA continued thus: “President Muhammadu Buhari did this aforementioned hurried but generally hasty reaction because the perceived or suspected killers are Igbos, an Ethnicity that his administration has treated with the short end of the stick for not voting for him in 2015 and 2019. But since over 28 hours that a Christian student of the Sokoto College of Education Deborah Samuel Yakubu was lynched by Islamic students for alleged blasphemy, President Muhammadu Buhari has maintained conspiratorial silence as if the innocent blood that was shed by the Extremists is not that of a human being. This same hypocrisy of conspiratorial silence was noticed with the Sokoto State governor who stayed away from taking action but secretly sent his commissioner for higher education to speak on the murder. We in HURIWA want to let him Tambuwal and Buhari know that so long as there is no justice for this murdered Martyr Miss Deborah Yakubu, her innocent blood is on their heads”. 

HURIWA condemned the  management of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto for standing by and for doing next to nothing whilst the riotous Islamic extremists within the students body descended on their fellow Students and killed her like a chicken but only made timid announcement of the so-called indefinite closure of the institution after a female student was reportedly killed for alleged blasphemy.

HURIWA said it is preposterous that the late student, believed to be a Christian, was stoned to death and burnt just because she was reportedly  said to have attributed her academic excellence to Jesus and rankled by her response, she was asked to withdraw the statement — to which she refused even as her refusal to apologise made the mob attack her and then set her body ablaze. The Rights group wondered when Sokoto has become an Islamic State when section 10 of the Constitution recognises Nigeria as a SECULAR STATE whereby no RELIGION IS A STATE RELIGION.”

HURIWA quoted a source as stating that “She (Deboraj Yakubu Samuel) was having an argument with some of her schoolmates over their ongoing examination and when she was asked how she managed to pass her exams, she said it was Jesus,” the source was quoted as saying. “She was asked to withdraw the statement and apologise which she refused. “The school security intervened, and took her to their post but they were overpowered by students after which she was killed in the process. After killing her, her body was burnt on the school premises.” Reacting to the incident, the college directed all students to vacate its campus immediately.

The college said thus: “Following today’s early morning Students rampage in the college, the college management has resolved to close down the college indefinitely with immediate effect. Consequently, all students are hereby directed to vacate the College campus immediately (12th may, 2022),” the statement read.

HURIWA in a statement by Conrade Emmanuel Onwubiko its National Coordinator however blamed the management for not adequately providing her security by failing to call for police and military beef up but simply sacrificed the Christian Student at the altar of religious extremism and hypocrisy. 

HURIWA said religious pluralism and freedoms have suffered organised criminal attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari who before he won election in 2015 supported the introduction of full shariah law in Northern Nigeria, became President but nobody who killed Christian has ever been known to have been punished in accordance with the law of Nigeria thus creating the impression that the laws of Nigeria are not meant to be effective in the core Moslem North. 

HURIWA condemned the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for reportedly debunking his initial condemnation of the dastardly act of killing by the Extremists of Deborah just as the Rights group said Atiku Abubakar has a terrible record of not intervening when Christians are killed by his kinsmen but yet he hopes to win the votes of Christians as he seeks the ticket of the opposition PDP to become their Presidential Candidate this month. 

HURIWA dismissed ATIKU ABUBAKAR as someone who lacks principles and is perpetually afraid of Islamic fundamentalists thus creating the image of himself as a Moslem bigot. ATIKU ABUBAKAR DENIED EVER CONDEMNING THE KILLING OF THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN GIRL DEBORAH IN SOKOTO BECAUSECISLAMISTS THREATENED HIM ON HIS FACEBOOK AND TWEETER NOT TO CAST THEIR VOTES FOR HIM. LET US ASK ATIKU ABUBAKAR,  IF YOUR DAUGHTER IS AT THIS RECEIVING END OF THIS BARBARIC MURDER,  WILL YOU OREFER THE SO CALLED VOTES OF THE LAWLESS ISLAMISTS OR WILL YOU STAND BY THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION WHICH IN SECTION 36(5) GUARANTEES FAIR HEARING TO ALL ACCUSED PERSONS SND SECTION 6 CONCEDES JUDICIAL POWER OF THE FEDERATION TO THE COURTS OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION LOSTED THEREIN? WE ASK PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI,  IF ONE OF YOUR DAUGHTER IS THE ONE TREATED LIKE A CHICKEN LIKE DEBORSH OF SOKOTO COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, WILL YOU MAINTAIN CONSPIRATORIAL SILENCE AS IF YOU ARE NOT ON THIS PLANET WITH US?”