HURIWA warns of major crisis over herdsmen killings, urges Tinubu to sack security chiefs

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, urging it to urgently halt the continuous attacks by suspected armed herdsmen across Nigeria or risk widespread armed resistance in the country.

The rights group described the recent massacre of over 200 persons in Benue State as a crime against humanity and a dangerous escalation that could spiral into nationwide ethnic violence.

HURIWA, a foremost civil rights advocacy organization, gave the warning in a press statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, following reports of a bloody attack by suspected terrorist herdsmen on the Tiv-speaking Yelewata and Daudu communities in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The victims, according to the group, include women, children, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and five security personnel.

According to the group, despite prior intelligence from residents about the impending attack, the federal government and security agencies failed to intervene or deploy adequate forces to the area.

HURIWA, in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that attackers stormed the communities from two flanks, overpowered local youths and police operatives, and then proceeded to open fire on defenceless civilians, including IDPs sheltering in market stalls.

HURIWA condemned what it termed the “persistent inaction” of the federal government, describing the role of the security chiefs and the National Security Adviser as grossly incompetent and complicit. The association warned that should the government fail to act decisively to bring an end to the targeted killings allegedly carried out by armed Fulani insurgents, Nigeria may descend into an unprecedented civil crisis, as ethnic groups facing continued invasions may begin to arm themselves for self-defence.

“The President is playing with fire,” HURIWA stated, “by allowing his incompetent security chiefs and the National Security Adviser to retain their positions despite repeatedly failing to prevent mass killings,” it said.

The group noted that many communities have in the past received intelligence about attacks and relayed such information to authorities, but nothing was done to prevent bloodshed.

“The service chiefs and the NSA remain ensconced in their air-conditioned offices in Abuja while rural communities are left to suffer repeated tragedies,” the group added.

HURIWA laid the blame for the Benue massacre squarely on the laps of the Inspector-General of Police and the military high command for not deploying sufficient security operatives with the requisite training and weaponry to protect the affected communities. The group also criticized the failure to secure Nigeria’s ungoverned spaces, especially in states like Benue, which have witnessed multiple deadly invasions over the years.

“It is heartbreaking that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Commander-in-Chief, and his security chiefs allowed families, including women and toddlers, to be slaughtered and burnt alive in their homes and makeshift shelters. This is a crime against humanity,” the group said, warning that if justice is not served, the global community should step in.

HURIWA called on civil society organizations to begin compiling evidence of atrocities and file petitions at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, to seek the prosecution of those in power for failing to protect Nigerian citizens.

The association linked the worsening security situation to what it termed a deliberate failure by former President Muhammadu Buhari administration to disarm Fulani militias, which it accused of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

HURIWA warned that if the government continues to shield terrorists and fails to bring perpetrators to justice, the more than 200 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria may resort to self-defence, a development the group said could replicate or even surpass the crisis that engulfed the Central African Republic (CAR).