Tag: Minister of Defence

• Challenge military chiefs to show remain of terrorists killed by soldiers in the North-West

“A situation whereby Nigerians are taken for granted by the heads of the security architectures who are all of the same Northern Moslem extractions and we are told that the armed forces are waging military actions targeted at eradicating the terrorists in the North West who are mostly Fulani by ethnicity same as the heads of the security institutions under Muhammadu Buhari who appointed only his kinsmen into those strategic national institutions but in actual fact these same terrorists that the government has refused to classify appropriately as terrorists but prefers to call them bandits are still carrying out massive attacks on soft and military targets”. 

“HURIWA as well as millions of rational Nigerians are not convinced that the armed forces headed by persons of same section of Nigeria and same religion are actually carrying out any military actions targeted at eradicating the terrorists in the North West”. 

“Few days ago, the newspapers reported that no fewer than 20 operatives of Nigeria security agencies were butchered in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State and bodies set ablaze by the notorious bandits operating in the state.” 

HURIWA said It was gathered that the security operatives were sent to a village where bandits have been ravaging for a long time without any security stoppage. It was gathered that bandits ambushed the security operatives, killed scores of them and set the corpses on fire in the early hours of Friday.Among the victims was Alhaji Shehu Mallami, a resident of the community. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Mr. Aminu Mary confirmed the incident, saying that the state commandant of the corps had already left to the scene to ascertain what really happened.”

HURIWA said the above factual accounts makes it necessary that the heads of the security agencies must transparently show clear evidence that the terrorists in the North West are actually been targeted in series of alleged military actions because the military is often in a hurry to display corpses of Igbo boys murdered by soldiers in alleged military shootouts but the same soldiers have never displayed the corpses of the terrorists in the North West therefore creating doubts in the minds of discerning Nigerians that any military actions are going on in the North West.  

Specifically, the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) carpeted the minister of Defence for providing defense for the terrorists in the North West on why the government has yet to classify them as terrorists whereas the same government did not waste anytime in classifying the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra as a terrorist group. 

HURIWA recalled that the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd),  said that the need to follow due process was responsible for the delay in declaring bandits as terrorists.

Magashi, who stated this on Friday, in Maiduguri, while fielding questions from newsmen, added that there was a procedure that needed to be observed before such a declaration.

“We are not declaring them terrorists because there is a procedure for doing that.

“When the procedure is followed, they will be classified as terrorists. We are waiting for the procedure to be completed,” NAN quoted him as saying.

Magashi who was in Maiduguri with the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor and Service Chiefs on an assessment visit of the fight against insurgency in the North east, expressed satisfaction with the successes so far recorded.

HURIWA however accused the federal government of pampering the terrorists in the North West only because they are of same ethnic Fulani and Muslims with the President and virtually all the heads of the internal security architectures in the Country under President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015.

HURIWA said: “The undue zest exhibited with respect to dealing with IPOB members in Orlu and Ihiala, should therefore be extended to the north-western states. To do otherwise would give the impression that the Federal Government is applying double standards. Such practice would also give impetus to the conspiracy theorists of a hidden agenda, as the majority of the security heads are from the north-west zone, where palliatives instead of ammunition are being offered to bandits.The Federal Government must therefore do everything to avoid giving the impression that crime pays in certain parts of the country. The consequences could be very devastating in the long run. Nation

The perception out there is that while the president is soft both in words and actions against the armed herdsmen that have been wreaking havoc in several rural communities across the country, he has been vehement and trident in condemning separatist groups, like IPOB. While the president is entitled to his private idiosyncrasies, he must exercise due diligence in matters of national importance and public perception.

A double standard arises in politics when the treatment of the same political matters between two or more parties (such as the response to a public crisis or the allocation of funding) is handled differently. This could occur because of the nature of political relationships between those tasked with these matters, the degree of reward or power that stands to be gained/lost, or the personal biases/prejudices of politicians.

Double standard policies can include situations when a country’s or commentator’s assessment of the same phenomenon, process or event in international relations depends on their relationship with or attitude to the parties involved.”