A pro-democracy movement, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has accused the Nigeria Police Force of returning the country to what it termed the late Sani Abacha’s infamous police state, characterised by excessive use of force to disperse peaceful protesters and extra-legal executions of perceived opponents of the government.

The group condemned the incessant physical attacks by armed policemen of peaceful civilian protesters belonging to either the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) or the Shiite Islamic Movement.

While calling for an end to the incessant high handedness and deployment of brute force to disperse peaceful demonstrators, the rights group affirmed that the “shameful actions of the Nigeria Police and the Military forces constitute grave threats to democracy, Rule of Law, respect for human rights and constitutionalism.”

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA strongly condemned the extra-legal killings of over a dozen members of IPOB who assembled in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in support of the newly inaugurated President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald Trump.

The rights group said it has resolved to send strong worded protest letter to the office of the President of the United States of America to demand that he uses the standing of his nation in the United Nations Security Council to compel the Nigeria government to arrest and prosecute all the armed security operatives who have been indicted over the killings of nearly 1,000 members of both IPOB and Shiites Islamic movement.

HURIWA expressed shock that the police could be deployed to attack demonstrating members of Shiite Islamic Movement who are only demanding that President Muhammadu Buhari should respect a binding and subsisting order of a competent court of law that the detained leader of Shiites in Nigeria Sheikh El-ZakZaky be freed unconditionally.

The group said: “In civilised climes, the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice would have by now been arrested and prosecuted by the police for openly urging the president to disrespect several binding orders made by the court of law. Why should the police obstruct law abiding group of Nigerians who are publicly urging the President to respect the constitution by abiding by the court order and release their leader?”

HURIWA lamented that the Nigerian government under Buhari has so far failed to investigate the illegal killings of hundreds of members of both IPOB and the Shiite Islamic Movement which were carried out by members of the armed security forces.

The rights group warned that the current brutal attacks of peaceful demonstrators by police are a serious threat to the sustenance of democracy and constitutionalism.

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