Security
HUMAN Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has appealed to restive agitators for self government in the South East to ceasefire and opt for constructive dialogues if they are behind the series of bloody violence just as the Rights group has strongly condemned the violent killing and burning of armed security forces by a yet to be determined group of armed non state actors in Imo State.
HURIWA said: “It is inconceivable that security operatives sent to the state to maintain law and order are subjected to this gruesome and painful death in the hands of a yet to be ascertained bunch of armed non state actors who have thrown Imo State into a state of war, anarchy, doom and bloodbath. The Rights group has also called on politicians to set their differences aside and work collectively to restore peace, stability and state-wide consensus on how best to bring about total reconciliation and concord in the state hitherto known for its ability to attract tourists from all over the World.”
HURIWA has also called for a broad-based investigation of these killings to actually ascertain the suspected killers and for effective justice delivery to be operationalised. “We are again calling on the relevant security agencies to investigate the scope of operation of the self acclaimed private soldiers commanded by the former Niger Delta militant leader Mr Asari Dokubo who confirmed that he carried out military operations in the South East under the directive of immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari”.
HURIWA is reacting against the backdrops of the story filtering out of Imo State, that gunmen killed eight security personnel, including soldiers, police officers, and members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. The Rights group described the crime as despicable, reprehensible and disgusting and appealed for total ceasefire from all armed non state and state actors in Imo State for the sake of the millions of Imo citizens that have faced constant ordeals of witnessing bloody violence intermittently. “Imo citizens deserve to live in peace and concord and Imo State has suffered for far too long from unnecessary shedding of innocent blood.”
The tragedy, which occurred on Tuesday morning in Umualumaku village, Ehime Mbano Local Government locals, has caused concern in the locals. HURIWA is warning the Army, DSS, Police not to contemplate carrying out revenge mission which will simply be a targeted genocidal killing of innocent residents.
The joint security taskforce team who were in two security trucks were ambushed and set ablaze by their attackers.
None of them survived as they were burnt inside their operational vehicles.
A security operative who doesn’t want to be mentioned told our correspondent that reinforcement teams had been sent to the scene of the crime with the intent to arrest the suspects and rescue the corpses of the slain security operative.
HURIWA recalled that a resident in the community who do not want to reveal his identity for security reasons said that he saw the security agents a few minutes before they were set ablaze. He said that the community had been thrown into confusion, owing to the development. saw a video clip of the attack as the security agents set ablaze in the two vehicles.
HURIWA in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko stated that bloodshed and violence do not result in any progressive development just as the Rights group called on the Imo State governor Mr. Hope Uzodinma to consider the public good of Imo State and reconsider his decision to go for a second term in office giving that his administration has substantially brought untold hardships, killings, maiming and destruction of lives and property of citizens, inadvertently. “HURIWA is not blaming the governor for instigating the violence but he has to realise that the killings have gone on for far too long and the casualty rates are really getting extremely unacceptable. The sacrifice he needs to make is to relinquish his second term ambition for the sake of the survival of Imo State.”
HURIWA recommends that no amount of sacrifice is too much to make if that will bring about lasting peace, concord and stability in Imo State. The Rights group lamented that instead of the political leaders of Imo State working for lasting peace and security of the State, they are all preoccupied with the November 2023 gubernatorial election as if they prefer to preside over a subnational entity engulfed in unending war and bloodshed. HURIWA has also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take steps to end the armed restiveness all over Nigeria.
In a report by the global think tank, Institute for Economics and Peace on the 10th annual edition of the Global Peace Index, 163 countries were ranked from the most to least peaceful countries on the planet according to how safe they are.
The report, published on June 8 assessed nations across 23 indicators of peace under three categories: the level of safety and security in society, domestic and international conflict, and militarisation.
The level of peace in each country is reflected in a score out of 5; the lower the score, the more peaceful a country is. The results are also colour-coded on this interactive map.
Syria came tops as the most dangerous country, with a peace score of 3.806 out of 5. The Middle Eastern country is in the fifth year of its civil war, in which more than 250,000 people have died and an estimated 9 million people have been displaced.
Of the 15 countries listed as most dangerous, Africa accounts for seven, while the Middle East has 5 with Asia accounting for one and Russia making up the number.
In Africa, South Sudan is the second-most violent nation, with Somalia, Sudan, Libya coming next.
While the top 15 dangerous countries, which the GPI deems to have a “very low” state of peace, is dominated by Middle Eastern and north African nations, Ukraine was named the 8th least peaceful country, with a score of 3.287.
Although the index found that the world has become less peaceful, it also points out that the number of countries that have become safer since 2015 is higher than the number of countries that have become more violent (however, these nations’ scores decreased by a greater number of points).
Of the 81 nations that became more peaceful, Panama, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Mauritania improved the most. Meanwhile, of the 79 countries that became less peaceful, Yemen, Ukraine, Turkey, Libya, and Bahrain deteriorated the most, due to the effect of terrorism and political instability.
Here are the 15 most dangerous nations in the world, along with the score for each:
15. Nigeria – 2.877
14. North Korea – 2.944
13. Russia – 3.079
12. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 3.112
11. Pakistan – 3.145
10. Libya – 3.2
9. Sudan – 3.269
8. Ukraine – 3.287
7. Central African Republic – 3.354
6. Yemen – 3.399
5. Somalia – 3.414
4. Afghanistan – 3.538
3. Iraq – 3.57
2. South Sudan – 3.593
1. Syria – 3.806
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September 20, 2023 @ 8:27 GMT|
Tags: Emmanuel Onwubiko
