Leading civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has told President Muhammadu Buhari that “he may go down in history as Nigeria’s first ever former President to be arrested and prosecuted over several unresolved cases of mass killings and destructions of towns, villages and communities by wayward armed Fulani terrorists whose daredevil activities of blood cuddling violence were deliberately overlooked by his (Muhammadu Buhari’s administration) despite humongous cash going into the National security and defence sector since he came on board in 2015 till date.”

HURIWA said the President was highly insensitive to have remained in power when he lacks the political will to crush the armed Fulani terrorists decisively. HURIWA has therefore condemned the genocides going on across Nigeria by armed terrorists who are largely operating freely.

According to the group in a statement issued on Sunday and signed by the Natioal Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, “It’s a crying shame that President Muhammadu Buhari does not find it shameful that his Government has shown gross incapacity and unwillingness to clinically finish off armed terrorists who are largely of the same ethnicity with President Muhammadu Buhari but who have been tolerated to continue to pillage, kill Nigerians at will, kidnap school girls at will and taking hostages of men, women and children of Nigeria.

“It is the first time that the orders of a sitting President are systematically overlooked by the field military commanders who may have compromised their oaths of offices by allowing sundry freelance armed terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and mass killers such as armed Fulani herdsmen to unleash bloody violence on Christian farmers in such places as Otukpo, in Benue State, most parts of Benue State, Southern Kaduna, Enugu, Delta, Bayelsa and even Rivers State. HURIWA questions the continuous stay in office of a failed Commander-in-Chief and his spectacularly failed field commanders including heads of Police and the secret police.

“So rather than the shamelessly continuous dishing out of meaningless and hollow orders to service chiefs who have no respect for their Commander-in-Chief, the outgoing President should actually be thinking of how he may spend time behind bars at the International Criminal court in the Hague Netherlands for these tolerated crimes against humanity under his watch following the principle of Command Responsibility which shifts the blame for the merciless murders of citizens during his eight tumultuous and disastrous years as President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023.”

HURIWA carpeted the President “for always dishing out empty rhetoric each time Nigerians are massacred but do nothing to arrest the perpetrators”. It lamented that “nothing concrete has been done since the year 2015 till date to arrest terrorist masterminds and their sponsors who are well known to this failed government of President Muhammadu Buhari.’

Continuing, the rights group said: “Perhaps the President and his failed military commanders should actually be thinking of their prosecution for crimes against humanity which they continue to permit terrorists to keep unleashing on the civil society. Where are the over 400 sponsors of terrorists which this government threatened to prosecute? Where are the Fulani terrorists declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters with several payments placed on their heads if found? What kind of bombardments are the military carrying out so much so that the real terrorists are not affected?

“It is a shame that again the President also condemned the use of terrorism as a tool in inter-communal conflicts, urged that the attackers be found and dealt with swiftly under the law just as while conveying his grief and sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack, Buhari directed the secret services, police and military commanders to enhance surveillance on every front and to immediately, review the security management in the affected areas and said that their thoughts and prayers are with the families of those murdered. The entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil.” HURIWA condemned the President “for deliberately overlooking the terrorism carried out by notorious armed Fulani terrorists and bandits who are certainly permitted to continue to kill Nigerians by key officials of the security institutions who are all Fulanis and Muslims like the killers.”

Update news