Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the legal lacuna “deliberately created by the South East governors in their disclosure of a regional outfit.”

The rights group said the deliberate action of the South East governors not to concretize the policy frameworks through thoroughly grounded legal frameworks has exposed their collective hypocrisy not to do what is right to ensure that the security of lives and property of the people of the South East of Nigeria is guaranteed.

Besides, HURIWA asked the governors to individually activate legislate frameworks in their states’ Houses of Assembly to make laws bringing into being the security outfit and clearly ban open grazing of livestocks which will check the deliberate mass killings of Igbo farmers by armed Fulani herdsmen.

In a media statement appraising the decision of the South East governors as affirmed in their communique at the end of an emergency security parley in Owerri, Imo State, HURIWA urged the governors to find ways and means to incorporate the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and all other community vigilantes into the Ebube Agu concept to get the buy in of the people.

It said the South East should work out the funding and seamless operational strategies that will lead to the total ridding the South East states of all armed Fulani mercenaries causing maximum chaos and security nightmares for communities in the South East of Nigeria.

HURIWA said the political stakeholders in the South East should put pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to lift the unconstitutional classifying of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist group. It blamed the conspiracy of the political elites in the Igbo speaking states for colluding with some haters of freedoms to use the instrumentality of an exparte order obtained in the night to pronounce IPOB as a terrorist group whereas armed Fulani herdsmen and armed bandits that have unleashed violence against Nigerians leading to thousands of death and destruction of communities have not been named as terrorist groups by the President Buhari’s administrators but the government is even encouraging dialogues with these Northern Nigerian-based armed bandits. HURIWA believes that IPOB’s advocacy for self determination is not harmful to public peace, adding that the blanket declaration of the self determination campaigners as a terrorists is aimed at instigating unrest and insecurity in the South East of Nigeria.

The rights group which refers the state governors of the South East states of the powers of the states Houses of Assembly to make good laws for the security of their states in section 4 (7) of the Nigerian Constitution, urged the governors not to leave any stone unturned in securing the South East of Nigeria and stamping out all the grave Security threats.

HURIWA wondered why the communique was silent on the attacks at the Owerri Prisons and the Police which happened for three hours without any counter attacks by soldiers, police and the Department of State Security (DSS).

“The people of the South East expect their governors to demand the arrest and prosecution of all the heads of security institutions in Imo state who went to sleep and allowed unknown attackers to bomb the Owerri federal prison and the State command of the Police of Nigeria and releasing thousands of dangerous convicted felons and killers on the streets of Owerri Imo State,” HURIWA noted.

On the need for clear legislation bringing into existence the Ebube Agu Security Network and the ban on open grazing, the rights group made reference to Section 4 (7) which stated that the House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the state or any part thereof.

In a media statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Ms Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA dismissed the apparent silence of the South East governors on the possibility of external Sponsorship of the terror attacks in the South East of Nigeria targeting Security Operatives which culminated in the unchallenged invasion of strategic National Security assets in Owerri Imo State.

“We hope these South East governors understand the dynamics of setting up functional structures for the Ebube Agu Security Outfit. This is because for now, what these governors have done is to set up a “paper tiger” with a frightening baptismal name of ‘Ebube Agu’ but all the trappings and facilities expected of a physical Security Outfit are still existing on the rich imagination of Governors”.

The rights group reminded the governors that they were elected to protect the strategic interests of Igbo land and not to keep gallivanting and doing nothing whilst the South East states are going through Security nightmares by all kinds of externally sponsored traitors and hoodlums including armed Fulani herdsmen.

HURIWA asked: “What are the states House of Assembly doing to show that the legislative frameworks for the regional security outfit and the ban on open grazing of livestocks are put in place and then regional wide security enforcement team set up to enforce the laws?

“Is the South East relying on the same Police that can’t protect themselves to enforce these regional laws?”

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