Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has said that the fact that senior officers have also made supreme sacrifices in the war against terror demonstrates the honesty, devotion, resilience and total commitments of the Nigerian military and the Federal Government in its commitment to flush out terrorists.

HURIWA said contrary to “what naysayers or conveyors of fake news want Nigerians to believe about the commitments of the military to wage an all-out war against terrorists, the fact that senior military officers, whose professional trainings may have cost the tax payers millions of naira for them to have reached such high career pedestals, were killed by terrorists in the theatre of war, shows that the military institutions and the Federal Government are waging total and committed war on terror.”

It said no particular ethnic group or men of religious affiliations were sent to the battlefield to be sacrificed as punishments based on any ethno-religious platforms as is evident in the affected fallen heroes.

HURIWA stated that “these regrettable and very sad deaths of senior officers as well as ranks and file should send us all the signal that the men and women in military uniforms must be supported and appreciated and that under no circumstances should anybody or group play ethnic or religious politics with the war on terror going by the abundance of evidence that the military truly wishes to liberate the territorial platform of Nigeria from external and internal sabotage and insurrection of the most disturbing dimensions happening in the North East which is bigger in size than France and Belgium put together."

Besides, the rights group which commended the military over the the successes recorded in the counter terror warfare, particularly commended the hierarchy of the army and the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, for their total commitments and patriotism towards the provision of welfare and financial cushioning mechanisms for the brave fighters in the theatre of war.

Specifically, the rights group has canvased the voluntary donation by corporate bodies as well as individuals to the Nigerian military to assist the government to actualize a quick end to the ongoing war on terror.

HURIWA suggested that the Federal Ministry of Defence should open a dedicated account details so Nigerians can donate to buy basic necessities in aide of the Nigerian military and to encourage them for all their efforts despite the limited funding components of the war on terror.

“War on terror is everybody's war, being fought on behalf of all of us by a few dedicated members of the military who should be supported by all and sundry on voluntary basis so as to motivate them to keep making these monumental sacrifices for the Native land and for us all.”

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, the rights group also urged the military authority and the Ministry of Defence to publish a dedicated account details linked to the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) so members of the public can voluntarily contribute towards providing provisions for the combatants to complement the phenomenal pro-welfare tendencies of the Army authority and other segments of the armed forces.

It commiserated with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, over the unfortunate killing of those very senior military officers amongst scores of other heroic combatants in the war against terror.

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