Respect Human Rights, HURIWA Urges Attahiru’s Successor

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has charged the yet to be named Chief of Army Staff to respect the rights of citizens upon resumption of office.
It would be recalled that there were speculations, yesterday, that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Maj-Gen Danjuma Ali-Keffi, may become the new COAS following the death of former Army chief, Lt-Gen Ibrahim Attahiru.
Attahiru died alongside ten other military officers in a crash involving a military aircraft in Kaduna State, last Friday.
The soldiers were interred, last Saturday, in Abuja.
HURIWA, in a statement, yesterday, by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko; and the National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, described the death as “regrettable, avoidable and tragic
The group, which condemned alleged human rights violations by soldiers during internal military operations in some parts of the South-East, urged the incoming COAS to be mindful of the inherent human rights of citizens recognized by law.
The statement also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to end “his unwarranted military aggression in parts of South-East of Nigeria with specific reference to the reported airstrikes in Imo State”.
“The unilateral and arbitrary deployment of airpower by President Muhammadu Buhari against South-East of Nigeria even when the Indigenous peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) had reportedly asked their members to disengage from their activities, constituted a crime of military aggression against innocent civilians.
“The airstrikes have created an atmosphere of fear and a climate of uncertainty in the entire Imo State with millions of people unsure of their safety any longer”, it added.