Security Scare: Stop Releasing Terrorists – HURIWA Tells President Buhari

Ahead of the emergency National Security Council meeting called by President Muhammadu Buhari, a Civil Rights Advocacy Group on the aegis of ‘Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)’, has kicked against the deradicalization, pardon and release of captured and surrendered terrorists by the Federal Government.

HURIWA stressed that one of the major motivating factors for expanding frontiers of threats of attacks by terrorists in Nigeria and the continuous attacks of soft targets is as a result release of so-called repentant terrorists who are given preferential and exclusive treatment on the orders of President Buhari.

It noted that Nigeria is about the only country in the World where the government of the day has conveyed to terrorists the idea that they can kill innocent citizens with their guns, bullets and bombs after which they surrender to the Army and enjoy deradicalization programme paid for by tax payers and reintegrated back into the society only to later disappear to join their terrorists groups and elaunch vicious attacks on the people, government owned assets and officers and men of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

These were contained in a statement by the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko in which he also stressed that frequent and intermittent releases of the terrorists back into the society of terrorists with their hands drenched with the blood of innocent children, women, the elderly without making them go through mandatory judicial process in accordance with the law, remains the most potential recruitment grounds for ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists networks in Nigeria.

HURIWA also reiterated its call for the sack of the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd.) and rejig the hierarchies of the Armed Forces to reflect federal character.

HURIWA further said; “On 29th July 2020, a high ranking senator at the National Assembly, Ali Ndume faulted the Federal Government’s amnesty for repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

“The senator stated this following report of a repentant Boko Haram member, who killed his father, stole his wealth and disappeared after reintegration. The lawmaker representing Borno South in the National Assembly alleged that most of the insurgents recently integrated into the community had gone back to their old ways. Ndume said the programme was unacceptable, calling on the government to stop forthwith.

“The lawmaker said, they are like Kharajites. Many among those released have since ran away. They will never repent. The government should know what to do about them, but not reintroducing someone to you, who has killed your parents or your relations”.

HURIWA also noted that a widow, who was featured in the programme, berated the Federal Government for training repentant insurgents to be reintegrated into the community.

HURIWA therefore stressed that that the policy of releasing terrorists back into the society after they may have and indeed inevitably shed blood of the innocent citizens amounted to the highest grade of illegality on the part of President Buhari.

HURIWA particularly lamed the security tensions in the country on the illegality of releasing detained terrorists back into the society as repentant terrorists when it is a universal fact that as an ideology, terrorists will never drop their conviction to kill for their belief system unless they are drastically punished in the severest of ways through the legal process.

HURIWA also blasted the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, who recently revealed that a total of 101 combatants comprising members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) groups have been moved from detention facilities for de-radicalization.

It expressed sadness that the Buhari-led administration is rather contributing to breeding terrorists by the implementation of the deradicalization programme and therefore called on Nigerians to speak and condemn the abominable amnesty programme being granted to hardened terrorists.

HURIWA also noted that the release of terrorists has also led to hyperinflation and the systematic collapse of the nation’s economy as investors and Foreign Direct investors have stopped coming to Nigeria.