The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the nation’s security forces not to allow themselves to be used for political witch-hunt of leaders of the Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP).

HURIWA stated that these select PDP chiefs include the past and current National Assembly members adding that the governor of the State, Mr. Dave Umahi, is playing political pranks with the serious national security issues by attempting to rope in some PDP chieftains into phantom allegations of funding cultists to torment crisis in the state.

HURIWA spoke against the backdrop of the accusations based on tissues of gossips and conjectures made by Governor Umahi against some PDP leaders in his State, including National Assembly members elected on the platform of the PDP and who refused to cross carpet with him to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The rights group said the Ebonyi State governor must be called to order so he does not muddy up and mess up the security forces still smarting from the monumental public image saga created by their roles in shooting peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gates Lagos on October 20, 2020 which is already a matter of global concerns with the United Kingdom threatening to slam diplomatic sanctions on Nigeria for the violence unleashed by armed forces against peaceful protesters.

“The police and the military are still battling to clean up their bad image. Let the Ebonyi State governor not be allowed to drag the heads of the nation’s armed forces into partisan politics and thereby scuttling their professional and institutional pride of place.

“Umahi cannot be the judge and prosecutor in his own case,” HURIWA said Saturday in a statement signed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs, Ms Zainab Yusuf. He can’t be allowed to use what he even admitted to be fake news to accuse innocent Nigerians of sponsoring armed cultists to destabilise peace in Ebonyi State. Is he the Chief of Defence Staff or is he the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces that he now determines who gets police security or not?”

HURIWA recalled that the Governor, last Friday alleged that one of his predecessors, Senator Sam Egwu, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Pius Anyim, and National Assembly members from his state who failed to cross over into APC with him were allegedly plotting to unsettle the peaceful atmosphere in the state.

However, the rights group said the Governor should be arrested after the expiration of his immunity for building on speculation to try to frame up respected political leaders over charges of sponsorship of cultists only because they insisted on the grounds of principle, equity, freedom of choice and constitutional freedom of association to remain in the PDP whilst the Governor, who got every political privilege, office and position courtesy of the platform of the PDP, decided against rational thinking to move over to the APC.

“HURIWA is calling on the Nigerian Police Force to keep Mr. Umahi on their watch list so he is taken in to defend why he had to frame up others over allegations as weighty as sponsorship of armed cultists against persons who refused to defect with him to his newly found political family and these allegations even by his own admission were not even as credible as the cheapest tissues of beer-parlour gossips.

“We want to remind the heads of the nation's security forces that not too long ago, the Nigeria Police accused two men of providing false information leading to search on Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s building.

“HURIWA also wishes to remind the heads of Nigerian security that the Nigeria Police Force went on to arraign a 50-year-old man, Ahmed Echodo, for allegedly misleading the police to conduct a raid at a building belonging to Ekweremadu.

Security operatives had ransacked Mr. Ekweremadu’s building following information accusing the occupants of criminal offences. They found nothing incriminating during the search.

“HURIWA preaches equity and equality before the law. The Governor of Ebonyi State who has admitted reporting PDP chiefs in his state over threats to the security of his state based on hearsay and speculation should be made to face the long arm of the law because nobody is above the law. Ebonyi State governor is this same person who for good six years as PDP governor has been quoted to have praised all these persons who he is now lampooning as political demons.

“How come that for six years they were political saints (but) as soon as you move over to another political party and you wanted them to move with you and they, as grown adults and persons of integrity, refused to betray the PDP, you then picked up road-side gossips that they are funding cultists and you are playing God threatening to withdraw the security details attached to them.

“We totally and absolutely condemn this resort to self help and the attempt through primitive and crude means to force persons who want to remain in PDP to join you in APC.

“We will be taking further advocacy action to ensure that the Governor of Ebonyi State does not think that he is the political god of the Southeast and therefore will determine who goes with police protection or not. This is absurdity taken too far.”

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