In response to the rising number of murders and kidnappings in the region, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Monday, August 22, threatened to bring the Federal Government of Nigeria and the five governors in the South-East geopolitical zone before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
In a statement, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, called the incidences in Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Abia “crimes against humanity” that needed to cease right away.
The organisation argued that both the federal and state governments have a responsibility to safeguard Nigerian citizens and shouldn’t be subjected to the same level of instability that has plagued the South-East over the past two years.
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On their way to morning service on Sunday along the infamous Okigwe-Enugu Road in Imo State, gunmen abducted four reverend nuns of the Catholic church.
Benita Agu, Liberata Mbamalu, Johannes Nwodo, and Christabel Echemazu are the four abducted reverend nuns.
The new occurrence was one of an increasing series of such incidents in the South-East, which also included the kidnapping of a Nigerian Methodist Church Primate and Catholic priests.
While some Catholic priests, like Rev. Fr. Chinedu Nwadike, who was abducted along the same road last week, managed to escape, many of his colleagues were not so lucky and perished at the hands of armed gunmen terrorising the South-East region while passing themselves off as engaged in trades like commercial motorcycling and cattle grazing.
HURIWA Issues Warning
Commenting on the development, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said;
The activities of armed Fulani terrorists in the South-East and especially the rampant cases of armed kidnappings for ransom in Umulolo-Okigwe Road, Okigwe- Enugu Road in Lokpanta are worrisome.
HURIWA condemns the abduction of four Revd sisters on Sunday morning while on their ways to mass and the many kidnaps of Catholic priests in the South-East and other parts of the country which show that the gunmen have specific targets in mind.
Federal and state governments including security agencies like the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and the Department of State Services must ensure the immediate and unconditional release of the abducted sisters who have done no wrong by being committed to their religious devotion.
According to Section 14 (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. The government must stop giving vain excuses and quit its relaxed and unconcerned posture and secure the people against gunmen aggression in whatever guise.
HURIWA condemns the apparent inability of South-East governors to galvanise armed forces to wipe off the menace of killings and kidnappings in the zone.
The organisation further charged the EbubeAgu security outfit to live up to its mandate rather than victimise innocent youth.
The DSS and the regional security outfit called Ebubeagu must focus on what matters which is the security of the people and not them busy killing Igbo youths on the nebulous ground including the recent extrajudicial killing of 14 Igbo youths at Awo Omamma in the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo on July 17 whilst returning from a wedding. Again, we reiterate the need for justice on the massacre of the innocent and unarmed wedding guests as it appeared that the case has been swept under the carpets after initial protestations by many people and groups.
The kidnapping-for-ransom and killings by non-state actors including ‘unknown gunmen’, notorious Fulani herders, amongst others MUST STOP. The four abducted Revd sisters must be rescued with immediate effect. The security agencies must make this happen instantly having failed to man the dread road and protect motorists.
Also, the extrajudicial killings of innocent and unarmed Igbo youths by security agents MUST stop. HURIWA has compiled evidence of crimes against humanity to be sent to International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, against South-East governments, the Federal Government and armed security forces.
