The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to address the nation on workable measures to reform the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make it truly independent and impartial and to also give clear directives to armed security operatives to treat armed Fulani herdsmen terrorising farming communities across Nigeria as terrorists.

Specifically, HURIWA is demanding the removal of the Director General of Department of State Services (DSS) Alhaji Daura for turning that national security institution to an exclusive protection and propaganda wing of the armed Fulani herdsmen responsible for mass killings across the country.

HURIWA said the conspiratorial silence of the DSS concerning the genocide by armed Fulani herdsmen in Agatu community of Benue State and many others including Taraba, Plateau, Delta, Enugu, Anambra and Edo States and the rapidity of the unscientific and provocative statement made by the Department of State Services to claim that members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) slaughtered the 5 kidnapped Fulani herdsmen even without any forensic evidence has clearly depicted the current hierarchy of DSS as sectional and myopic and therefore should be dismissed for lacking professionalism and for attempting to ignite Ethnic genocide against Igbo residing in Northern Nigeria.

The group also called on the National Assembly to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately organise a rerun poll in Okigwe Senatorial zone to enable the people elect their representative in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. HURIWA said that it is imperative that the electoral body becomes truly independent and autonomous and stop the current undemocratic role of an undertaker put in place by the powers that be in Abuja to dictate to it which trends and positions to adopt and who should be returned conclusively elected.

The rights group said it is unbecoming of a body supposedly said to be independent to act in criminal collusion with some forces bent on denying the people of Nigeria their democratic and constitutional rights to elect Nigerians of their choice to govern them.

HURIWA blamed INEC for the unnecessary bloodshed that occurred during the recent rerun election in Rivers State even as it accused INEC of undermining democracy in Imo State by refusing to conduct election in Okigwe Senatorial zone because of the conspiracy of the Governor Rochas Okorocha administration who is actively seeking to railroad his political surrogate to occupy the position without a free and fair democratic contest.

According to HURIWA, “The people of Okigwe Zone came out in the general elections of March, 2015 and gave their mandate to Chief Athan Nneji Achonnu who ran on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The results of the election was challenged by the other candidates who filed petitions before the Election Petition Tribunal, namely, Chief Clement Owunna of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who came second; Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajimogu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who came third; and Mrs Rita of the Accord Party. While the APGA candidate withdrew his petition, the APC candidate lost at the Tribunal and at the Court of Appeal. However, the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal nullified the election based on the petition of the Accord Party candidate whose petition was hinged on the exclusion of her party’s logo form the ballot paper.”

•Photo shows President Buhari.

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