The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has dismissed last night's national broadcast of President Muhammadu Buhari as “not soothing enough and amounted to open threats” to the aggrieved members of the youthful public, adding that the speech “sounded dictatorial and undemocratic.”

HURIWA expressed consternation that the President failed to announce the formation of Judicial Commissions of Investigations into the killings by SARS to work with the various commissions instituted by state governments.

The rights group said President Buhari has no respect for the independence of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which is why for four years he failed to set up the governing board of the commission and has also failed to name the board during “his highly disorganised and unedifying speech” to a nation waiting for some soothing and constructively reassuring words from their elected President “who has opted to behave like a tyrant.”

It expressed consternation that the President Buhari failed to address in sufficient length the all-important issue of the failure of the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu to effectively fish out the indicted members of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad for onward judicial reprimand and sanctions.

The rights group said Nigerians expected that some persons heading the armed security forces, such as the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu, is relieved of his duty just as the President wasted the precious time of millions of Nigerians who paused to watch his broadcast with empty rhetorical political propaganda of programmes his government has purportedly earmarked for execution.

“He disappointed Nigerians by not stressing the killings that took place at the Lagos Lekki Toll Gates which Amnesty International just confirmed that a dozen youngsters were gunned down by military operatives. Rather, he was more concerned about the housing assets of politicians purportedly attacked by some hoodlums.

“President Buhari showed pure cruelty and a total disconnect between him and the realities of the bottled-up righteous indignation and national outrage that have boiled over on to the streets since nearly a month.”

HURIWA however asked the genuine protesters to adopt Plan B to beat to their game, the various armed hoodlums hired by some officials to infiltrate them

“We ask the protesters to suspend their actions and re-strategize because from his body language it means this unsympathetic government won’t mind wasting more precious lives under some nebulous ground that those killed violated or threatened national security,” the group said.

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