HURIWA fires Buhari govt for decision on AK-47 rifles
By Rebecca Bamidele
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, expressed concerns over the President’s decision to grant a vigilante owned by the Katsina State Government license to bear AK-27 rifles reportedly for just five days training, while it has continued to deny the same privilege to Amotekun Corps in South-West Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari has come under fire over what has been described as double standards of his administration in handling the security issues in the country.
HURIWA, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said in order of priority, the Buhari administration ought to have granted the Amotekun Corps in Ondo State immediate license to bear assault rifles, if not for any reason, the June 5 terror attack in a Catholic church in Owo.
Furthermore, the rights group tackled Garba Shehu, a Spokesman to the President, for defending the imbalance.
HURIWA said what is good for the goose is good for the gander and no State in the country is facing a greater level of insecurity or terrorism than the other.
Shehu had also said Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has no right to arm the state’s Amotekun Corps with AK-47 rifles, noting that such action is “illegal”.
And HURIWA said, “The defence of presidential spokesman Garba Shehu is lame and unacceptable because the security challenges in the whole country are the same and no region or zone is safe at all.”
The group insisted that the same privilege given to the Katsina State vigilantes should be enjoyed by all State-owned security outfits.
“HURIWA is shocked that President Muhammadu Buhari even rejected the idea of setting up Amotekun at the inception stage but the same President did not raise any objection to the setting up of the civilian vigilantes in Katsina State.
“If Garba Shehu claimed the vigilantes in Katsina were only trained with the weapon, the Amotekun in Ondo would like to be trained with the same AK-47,” HURIWA said.
HURIWA feels it is a display of injustice for the President to back his own State’s move to acquire the prohibited firearms for the vigilante.
