By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Human Rights, Liberty Access & Peace Defenders’ Foundation (HURIDE), has strongly condemned what it described as “the despicable killing of defenceless Igbo youths at Emene last weekend.”

The Chairman B.O.T of the group, Dede Uzor Uzor, who made the condemnation on behalf of the foundation on Tuesday in Enugu, decried the continuous killing of Igbo youths by Nigerian security operatives.

He berated the Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Police Force, whose operatives are said to be responsible in this heinous and reprehensible act.

HURIDE wondered why security operatives should open fire on innocent and defenceless young men who were having their meeting without disturbing the peace of the vicinity.

It said the latest killings by the DSS and police has shown their ethnic-religious bitterness of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration against Ndigbo, “an agenda being pursued vigorously by the security operatives.”

The group wondered “why the members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) should be slated for butchering, while the Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, bandits, gunmen or whatever name they are called openly carry AK-47 rifflle, killing people all over the country allegedly with the aid of Nigerian security operatives.”

“The latest killing in Enugu has shown that most of these officers are ethnic bigots who have no value for human lives that are not from their own ethnic group and lack professionalism,” HURIDE said.

The group expressed shock at how supposedly trained security men could without any provocation open fire on a group of people bearing no arm and who were defenceless.

“We call on the Enugu State Government to immediately set up a commission of enquiry that will comprise a serving Judge, members of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), religious leaders and a retired Chief Justice to unravel the cause(s) of this despicable and open day murder.

“Those who are culpable especially the trigger happy officers should be reprimanded and brought to book,” HURIDE said.

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