The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned as recklessly insensitive and inciteful, “the unsubstantiated claim at the weekend by the Department of State Service blaming the Europe-based Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) over the alleged disappearance and killing of suspected Fulani herdsmen few days back in Abia State South East of Nigeria.”

The rights group said that “with this phenomenally irrational statement attributed to someone whom the Nigerian media identified as the Spokesperson of the Department of State Service and the hierarchy of the DSS has yet to dissociate itself from this reckless and warlike claims, the impression been created is that that hitherto government security agency has been hijacked by interest affiliated to the Fulani herdsmen.”

HURIWA has therefore called on the National Assembly, the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, and the African Union “to immediately call President Muhammadu Buhari to infuse independence and professional competence into the hierarchy of the Department of State Service which has come under increased criticism from a cross section of Nigerians for its current partisanship and sectional pursuit of a narrow agenda of Ethnic imperialism of the Fulani herdsmen.”

HURIWA said in a statement issued Monday in Abuja, “We are shocked beyond belief that an agency of government funded by us the tax payers and good law abiding Nigerians is progressively deteriorating in standards, ethics and operational independence. Why is it that since the current political dispensation whereby the Fulani ethnic group produced the key officials of the National government that ruthlessly armed Fulani terrorists are on rampage killing, maiming and destroying several lives and property and both the police and the DSS have conveniently looked the other way whilst these monumental destruction take place all across Nigeria? Why has it taken the DSS the alleged disappearance and killing of five Fulani herdsmen by some satanic unknown hoodlums for the DSS to issue this hurriedly written media statement making a very vexatious and irrational claims that lack any scientific and evidence based independent proof? This is the saddest period of our national life. Mr. President must call the management of the DSS to order to comply with constitutional codes of conduct and work for all Nigerians and not turn her operational attention to only matters of the welfare of just one ethnic group out of the over 300 Nigerian Ethnic nationalities.”

The group in the statement signed by its national Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said that the DSS statement issued on Saturday by Tony Opuiyo lacks any empirical evidence and amounted to a fallacy of hasty conclusion which may spark off reprisal against the Igbo in the North. “We call on the UN to impress it on President Muhammadu Buhari to take measures to prevent any reprisals which this insidious and highly dangerous statement of DSS can cause especially in the far North that has witnessed several pogrom against Igbo,” the rights group said.

•Photo shows DSS Acting DG Lawal Daura.

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