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Activists Challenge South-East Governors to wake up from their slumber
Pro-democracy and rights crusaders in the country’s South-East have unreservedly condemned the continued detention of Shiite Leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakyzaky, his wife-Malama Zeenatu and numerous followers in disobedience of court orders.
“We call for immediate and unconditional release of Mallam Zaky Ibrahim El-Zaky and his beloved wife-Malama Zeenatu as well as an end to persecution of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria. Those who masterminded the massacre of over 1,130 Shiite members in December 2015 and above including COAS, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai (vicarious culpability) must be arrested and punished locally or internationally no matter how long it takes,” said the Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights & Good Governance Organizations (SBCHROs) in a recently released 22-page study.
SBCHROs comprises Intersociety; CLO, Southeast Zone; Centre for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy; Human Rights Organization of Nigeria; Society Watch & Advocacy Project of Intersociety; Anambra Human Rights Forum; Southeast Good Governance Forum; Int’l Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights Initiative; Igbo Ekunie Initiative; Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch; Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy & Dev; Society for Economic Rights & Social Justice; Innocent Initiative for Ideal Dev & Emancipatory Leadership in Nigeria; Igbo National Council; Forum for Promotion of National Ethos & Values; Easy Life Initiative for Rural Youths; and Voice of the Voiceless Int’l.
According to SBCHROs, “The unarmed and defenseless husband and wife had been held by SSS without trial since 14th December 2015; a period of over 800 days; after being shot severally at close range and inflicted with terminal injuries by Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai (vicariously) and the Nigerian Army during violent crackdown on Shiites on 12th and 14th December 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna State.
“Over 1,000 unarmed and defenseless Shiite faithful were shot and killed on 12th and 14th December 2015 by the Nigerian Army led by Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai. The IMN leader also lost three of his sons (Hamad, Aliyu and Humaid) as well as his 70yr old elder sister (Fatima) to Buratai’s men on the spot same day. The violent crackdown on Shiites has continued into this 2018 with no end in sight.”
SBCHROs in the report also called on the Muhammadu Buhari administration “to end government and herdsmen killings and other crimes against humanity.”
The group said: “The present Federal Government under Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari must put an end to slaughtering of thousands of defenseless citizens especially Christians on annual basis by terror Fulani Herdsmen in Northern Nigeria and proscribe the Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria as well as fish out their leaders and culpable elements and charge them for manslaughter and culpable homicide, respectively, among other felonies committed against the State of Nigeria and its population.
The Federal Government’s silence, inaction and conspiracy over these ethno-religious carnages are not only an invitation to retaliatory widespread violence and ruination of the country in part or in whole but also a gross breach of Section 10 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution which forbids the Federal Government or any State Government from adopting any religion including Islam as a State Religion.
“The first major step towards addressing the present national and sub-national security challenges in Nigeria is total re-organization of the commanding positions and other top echelons of security forces, the police and other para-military organizations in Nigeria. The present Caliphate structure of Nigerian security and policing is totally rejected. They must be restructured in accordance with Section 14 (3) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution or federal character or geopolitical spread.
“The stark reality today is that continuation of the centrality; oneness, unity and national cohesion of Nigeria; steadily and systematically undermined by the present central Government has become an act of impossibility.
“The ethno-religious divisions in the country have continuously thickened with ethno-religious chauvinists taking over and consolidating their grip on power without letting go. In other words, the Nigeria Project has collapsed; requiring urgent re-negotiation by all ethnic nationalities through their representatives before the country goes on full brink. The Buhari Administration must hearken to this wind of change and urgently steer the ship of the re-negotiation of the Nigeria Project.”
Coming nearer home, SBCHROs berated South-East Governors for not living up to expectation, saying: “The Governors of the Southeast Zone are collectively and individually called upon to wake up from their slumbers. They must be proactive and efficient in strengthening the internal and external security of the Zone especially with regard to well oiled and coordinated widespread violent attacks against Christian population and their churches by the terror Fulani Herdsmen such as the Nimgbo tragedies of 14th February and 25th April 2016 in Uzo-Uwani area of Enugu State during which terror Fulani Herdsmen killed at least 50 rural Christian dwellers and injured 79 others.
“The Southeast Governors must desist henceforth from lending their hands and supports by way of supporting, adopting, aiding, abetting or undermining the present and future collective security of the people of the Southeast Zone and their properties; through the raging, disastrous, unilateral and militarist national policy of “Cattle Colony”; using any guise or instrumentality particularly the Federal Executive Council and the National Council of State.
The Governors must also proactively and courageously engage the Federal Government, the President and heads of major security and policing agencies in the country by insisting on making proactive inputs into the overall security structure and composition in the country as well as the posting of commanders of their formations in the Southeast Zone especially in the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS, Customs and the Police. The current policy of flooding most, if not the entire military and policing formations in Igbo Land with senior and commanding officers of Hausa-Fulani Muslims must be rejected and reversed.
“More concerted efforts are also required from the Southeast Governors at ensuring that the Zone which is the birthplace of the Igbo Nation gets its fair and due share of the Federation resources, appointments, attentions and infrastructural developments. The Governors must ensure that the Southeast is fully factored into the new national railway policy and comprehensive reconstruction of all federal roads in the Zone especially the Onitsha-Enugu and the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressways and other important ones.
“The Zone also needs a standard international seaport and construction of a standard bridge linking Ogwu-Ikpere in Ogbaru, Anambra State and Ndoni in Rivers State; which if constructed, will take less than two hours to convey goods and services from Port Harcourt wharfs into the Southeast Zone or any part thereof. The Akanu Ibiam Int’l Airport in Enugu, which is presently a makeshift int’l airport, must totally be upgraded to truly reflect its international status and serve the People of the Southeast Zone and others from major parts of the world particularly Africa, Europe, Americas, Asia and Middle-East.”
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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