Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) on Sunday, said Nigerians should hold President Muhammadu Buhari responsible and accountable if terrorist attacks mar the 2023 general elections.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement condemned the failure of the President to use performance indexes to assess his appointees in the security and defence sector and his wont to appoint heads of security agencies based on nepotism and downright ethnic/religious considerations.
The group demand the sacking of the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and for the rejigging of the entire security architecture of the country to enable competent hands man the affairs of the nation’s security apparatus.
HURIWA also called for the immediate sacking of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami who has failed woefully in the utilization of the National Identification Number (NIN) database in the country in the fight against¬ insurgency, banditry and terrorism despite that at least 95 million Nigerians have obtained their NIN but kidnappers continue to use their phone numbers to contact families of victims to demand millions of ransom.
HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “A President who gladly extended the tenure of an IGP under whose watch police stations are bombed on daily basis and operatives killed like chickens, is certainly not the kind of a statesman Nigerians expect to put out practical measures to stop violence before, during and after the election.
“Already many rich Nigerians are flying out their families to Europe and America to stay until after the election. HURIWA has a statistics of over 100 families that have left this month to Canada USA, GB to escape the violence related to the 2023 poll because the President has shown a lack of political will to combat these violent armed non state actors.
“2023 election may be marred by uncontrollable violence because of the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to demand accountability and use performance indexes to assess his appointees in the security and defence sector who were basically put in office due to nepotism and downright ethnic/religious consideration.
“For instance, two years ago, NIN registration happened with the assurances that the insecurity will fizzle out but these attacks by terrorists, kidnappers and assassins who now behead their victims have escalated yet the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami said the National Security Adviser’s office that has the responsibility of coordinating national security has not demanded the data for the purposes of fighting terrorism but President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to rejig the security agencies and appoint more competent heads.
“This is why insecurity has escalated and the election will inevitably be disrupted by these armed non state actors unless President Muhammadu Buhari sacks his national security Adviser and bring in a very active National Security Adviser to ensure that the dominance of armed non state actors across the Country are brought to a quick end.
