•Calls for state sponsored all night/day armed security on the bridge

Describing the act of vandalism of the newly built second Niger Bridge crisscrossing Delta, through the entire South East and the rest of the South/South States as the greatest and most treasonous act of coordinated economic sabotage and terrorism which should never be tolerated by all Nigerians, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has proposed the declaration by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the armed security services to shoot -on -sight any vandal caught actively vandalising the highly esteemed 2^nd Niger bridge. The government must mount and operate all-round CCTV in and around this key bridge.

HURIWA stated that the entire 60 million Igbo people Worldwide should be rightly enraged that the only feasible and significant physical strategic national asset built by the central government since democracy returned to Nigeria for the benefits of Nigerians travelling through the South East from the South West through Delta/Onitsha: the second Niger Bridge is facing this coordinated, well planned and carefully executed vandalism to incapacitate millions of travellers.

HURIWA thinks that this incident of vandalism of this important passage into the Eastern Region of Nigeria is not a mere coincidence but an act of high treason and terrorism coordinated and funded by the same undesirable elements creating seemingly unending chaos, anarchy and doom in the South East of Nigeria just as the Rights group has called for well-grounded investigation by forensic and criminologists to get to the root of this agenda of decimating and destruction of the newly built second Niger Bridge. Enemies of Igbos and enemies of the South/South Region are behind this sabotage.

The Rights group has therefore stated that the States adjoining the second Niger Bridge with the contributions of the South East and South South States, should immediately put up an armed youth-led vigilantes to protect the second Niger Bridge all days and all nights just as these security operatives to be drawn from well trained youngsters from Anambra, Delta States particularly from Asaba, should be adequately remunerated. “We also suggest that strong, reliable native/witchdoctors should also be contracted to provide their security watch on the bridge so the enemies of progress are eliminated.

HURIWA has in a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, expressed shock to read from the Desk of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who rightly expressed concerns over the vandalisation of the Second Niger Bridge. HURIWA said the concerns shown by Peter Obi is well placed and therefore should be taken seriously.

Obi’s statement comes in the wake of a viral video shared by a social media influencer identified as Lord Zeus, exposing the vandalism of the bridge.

On Monday, a video circulated on social media showed Lord Zeus narrating how some rail fittings installed on the Second Niger bridge were been uprooted and vandalised by suspected vandals.

Sharing the video on Monday, Lord Zeus, who stood on the bridge advised drivers to be cautious of the uprooted railings, especially at night. The video also showed some of the uprooted railings lying on the ground of the bridge.

Consequently, reacting in a post on Tuesday, Obi said, “I like to thank immensely the young man, Lord Zeus, driven by patriotism and courage to raise alarm on the vandalization of the second Niger bridge,”

HURIWA which suggested that the government of Anambra State and especially His Excellency the governor of Anambra State Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo quicken the process of setting up a permanent armed security services coordinated by youths to be passed into law by the Anambra State House of Assembly for the purposes of providing unassailable and all-round security surveillance in and around the second Niger Bridge alongside the security services drawn from the armed forces of Nigeria.

Hear HURIWA: “The Anambra State House of Assembly should quickly and very rapidly should amend the relevant laws of Anambra State to permit the SHOOTING-AT-SIGHT any visible vandals caught actively in the dastardly criminal act of sabotaging of the most strategic national asset built for South East which is the second Niger Bridge”.

HURIWA also suggested to both the federal and the surrounding States with primary oversight by Delta and Anambra States to move for perimeter security should be used to adequately secure the second Niger Bridge, the governments should deploy technology to fight this economic sabotage and terrorism by vandals such as sophisticated drones, install access control systems to check infiltration by saboteurs on the Second Niger Bridge.

HURIWA also canvassed for provision of adequate manpower training and motivation of security personnel drawn from the armed forces of Nigeria and the states surrounding the second Niger bridge to be kickstarted immediately by Anambra and Delta States, cybersecurity measures be put in place too for the safety of this modern transportation infrastructure and lastly, there should be perimeter intruder detection systems optimally operated within the second Niger Bridge to weed out economic saboteurs. Lastly, HURIWA calls on residents of the towns and cities closest to the second Niger Bridge to provide credible human intelligence about the movements of suspected vandals damaging that bridge.

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