In an attempt to exhaust internal judicial process before stepping out to the global crime court in The Hague Netherlands to wage unrelenting crusade for prosecution for crimes against humanity following his specific instructions for armed policemen to shoot at unarmed civilian protesters in Onitsha Anambra State, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded officially for the prosecution of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase.

The Rights group said it holds the nation’s police chief, Mr Solomon Arase, responsible for the killings of unarmed pro-Biafra protesters in Onitsha Anambra State who were attacked twenty four hours after the Inspector General of Police asked his armed operatives to quell the peaceful protests by supporters of the politically detained Director of the Europe Based Radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

HURIWA has also for the umpteenth time demanded the unconditional release from the underground cells of the Department for State Security Services of the Director of the Europe Based Radio Biafra and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

HURIWA said it was deeply concerned that the Nigerian State has persistently violated and disrespected with ignominy several orders of the Court which granted bail to this prisoner of Conscience Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

HURIWA calls on all right thinking Nigerians to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to release forthwith this ‘Prisoner of Conscience Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.’

Conversely, the Rights group said it has almost exhausted internal mechanisms through the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to initiate investigative hearings over the reported killings by armed soldiers of unarmed civilians including a shoe cobbler by soldiers in Aba Abia State.

HURIWA disclosed that it was displeased with the bureaucratic bottlenecks that characterized a subsisting petition against the Army Chief Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai which was submitted on behalf of the Rights group by the Senator representing Abia North Mr. Enyinaya Abaribe and read on the floor of the Senate since three weeks now.

“We condemn the lacklustre approach to serious petitions against key military players in Nigeria by the Senate when the legislative chamber is empowered by the Nigerian law to employ legislative powers to restrain military and police chiefs from the gross abuse of office in the deployment of security operatives for internal security operations. We are shocked that the national assembly has done very little to ensure that global best practices and ‘Rules of Engagement’ are complied with by armed security forces involved in internal security operations. This shameful approach must change. The legislature must clean up the human rights credentials of the Nigerian military by appropriately employing measures to name, Shame and recommend for judicial prosecution of indicted military and police chiefs who have continued to subject the public image of the Nigerian military and police to unmitigated opprobrium.”

In a statement jointly signed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said it was gravely disturbed that Mr. Solomon Arase can abuse his privileged position by publicly ordering the vicious confrontation by his armed operatives against members of Indigenous People of Biafra and MASSOB who were peacefully demonstrating and demanding the immediate and unconditional release from the underground cells of the Department for State Security Services of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu amongst other democratically lawful demands such as self-rule permitted under international laws.

•Photo shows IGP Arase.

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