The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has lauded Federal the Government for the recent successes in the war against terror in the North-East of Nigeria, but urged the Presidency to introduce sustainably long term effective counter-insurgency mechanisms, to stop a resurgence of more deadly insurgencies in the near future.

The group also reiterated its earlier call for a bipartisan counter-terrorism platform to incorporate all facets of the political and civil society communities in Nigeria, in order to work out effective synergy and partnership with the Federal Government and the 36 states of the federation on measures for waging relentless counter-insurgency battles that can stand the test of time.

HURIWA stated this in a media statement signed jointly by the national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, and made available to News Express. It also cautioned politicians of all affiliations against playing “deadly” and “internecine” politics with the war on terror because, according to the association, the continuous existence of a united entity called Nigeria surpasses mere mundane and divisive politics.

HURIWA noted that the recent successes against the terrorists, if sustained, will profoundly convince Nigerians and the rest of the international community that the Federal Government and other component parts have kept to the principles and letter of the Constitution: as prescribed in section 217 subsection 2 (b), which specifically provides that the “Federation of Nigeria SHALL, subject to an Act of the National Assembly made in that behalf, equip and maintain the armed forces as may be considered adequate and effective for the purposes of amongst others; maintain its territorial integrity and SECURING its borders from violation on land, sea or air.”

According to HURIWA, “We in the organised civil society community, with no clear cut affiliations to any political platform, are happy with the recent strings of monumental military successes recorded by the Nigerian military in active partnership with the armed forces of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. We are delighted that the Nigerian government has, through the dint of diplomatic acumen and professionalism, successfully won the support of the armed forces of the sister nations to realise that the threats posed by the armed Islamists in the North-east is a regional threat capable of destabilising even those countries. We are happy that the consistent international and continental diplomatic shuttles by President Goodluck Jonathan are yielding steady, consistent but constructive dividends in the war against the bloody insurgency that has resulted in the killing of nearly 20,000 innocent Nigerians, and rendered about 3 million to become internally displaced persons and refugees in other neighbouring nations.”

The rights group, which advocated effective and strict enforcement of justice and fairness to the victims of the deadly terrorism, warned against sweeping these range of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the armed terrorists over the last three years under the carpet. It added:

“While commending the Nigerian state and our allied forces for these significant victories against these mass murderers, let us use the opportunity to appeal for the enforcement of a sustainably long term strategy against further rebirth or re-emergence of even more sinister and vicious gangs of deadly armed terrorists.”

Warning that a relapse to business-as-usual attitude in securing Nigeria’s international borders by the armed forces soon after the current counter insurgency battles are won could be grave, the group said: “Nigeria and her neighbors must work out lasting border security mechanisms to make it impossible for arms smugglers to flood each of these sister nations with illegal weapons from failed state, like Libya. Nigeria should approach the United Nations and her global partners on ways of building the capacity of our soldiers consistently; and must reform the Nigerian Customs, and Immigration fundamentally to weed out all the bad eggs within those agencies that actively help arms smugglers to bring in weapons into Nigeria.”

HURIWA canvassed radical socio-economic development of the border communities to encourage the residents to partner with the Nigerian security agencies, to report suspicious movements of persons into Nigeria with illegal weapons.

“Nigeria must acquire sophisticated, technologically-driven facilities for border security.”

•Photo shows National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

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