1 month ago
16 ARTICLE AD
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has criticised the Nigerian Army for failing to go after former Niger Delta militant warlord, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo.
The group insisted that it was pathetic that the military was talking back at Dokubo and failing to prosecute him for his statement.
Recall that the erstwhile militant had threatened to shoot down the military helicopter hovering around his residence.
Replying, the military said Dokubo threat was laughable and dared him to confront soldiers on the battlefield.
Reacting, HURIWA argued that Dokubo should be arrested and prosecuted.
They fumed that exchanging words with Dokubo diminishes the status of the armed forces of Nigeria.
Speaking via a statement signed by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group said, “It is such a pathetic sight to behold the Defence Headquarters talking back on Asari-Dokubo instead of enforcing the law by investigating, arresting, and prosecuting him, even if not for his most recent threat, but for his previous outings in which he was seen on videos brandishing military-grade assault rifles.
“Is the Defence Headquarters feigning ignorance of all these videos of Asari-Dokubo?”
HURIWA said the statement from the Defence Headquarters has made a joke of the strategic place of the country’s military, especially when it has officially become clear that certain persons from some political persuasions are treated as sacred cows, whereas others, especially those from the Igbo-speaking South East of Nigeria, are treated as outlaws and punished decisively with a sledgehammer.
The group noted that this policy of discrimination is unconstitutional and illegal
They recalled that during Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the Army invaded the private home of the long-detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who was then at home after he was granted bail by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of the Federal High Court.
“It is shocking that the Defence Headquarters is now hiding under democracy to permit lawlessness only because Asari-Dokubo is a friend of the current president, whom he visited in Aso Rock soon after the current president was inaugurated, and addressed a press conference where he made scandalous revelations, including the claim that his private army worked as a consultant for the federal government on the permission of the immediate past president.
“Few days back, the same Asari-Dokubo openly threatened to shoot down a military jet allegedly hovering around his massive mansion. But instead of the Defence Headquarters taking him in for interrogation and possible prosecution, they started speaking from both sides of their mouths in a show of shame and in a clear demonstration of double standards,” the statement added.
