…

By Chioma Obinna

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, on Wednesday criticised governors and political leaders in the South East for what it described as their “crass irresponsibility and complicity” in the face of rising insecurity across the region.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the group accused the governors of turning a blind eye to the worsening security situation, while allegedly enriching themselves through security votes that have yielded no visible impact on the safety of lives and property.

The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the governors have collectively failed the people of the region by refusing to establish a regional security outfit similar to the Amotekun Corps in the South West.

“It is appalling that South-East governors have watched idly while ungoverned spaces multiply across the region. These spaces have now become strongholds for armed non-state actors who terrorise citizens with impunity,” Onwubiko said.

He noted that the Igbo heartland has become a shadow of itself, crippled by fear and economic stagnation fuelled by frequent attacks and the Indigenous People of Biafra’s, IPOB, prolonged “sit-at-home” orders.

Onwubiko lamented: “The South-East is bleeding. The silence and inaction of our leaders in the face of these threats smack of either cowardice or collusion.”

HURIWA also took a swipe at the Federal Government, accusing it of complicity and neglect, particularly over its handling of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s continued detention, and the alleged marginalisation of the region in federal appointments and infrastructure development.

“It is factually accurate to say that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has failed to confront the insecurity in Igboland with the urgency it demands. The persistent exclusion of Igbos from strategic appointments only worsens the alienation,” the group said.

Citing the opinion of a security analyst, HURIWA argued that the visible absence of security personnel during sit-at-home days reinforces the perception that the state has abandoned its duty.

“Markets, banks, schools, and public transport systems are shut down, not just from fear of violence, but because the state has vacated the public space. It is a dereliction of duty,” the group maintained.

HURIWA warned that allowing non-state actors to dominate the region for nearly four years, with no significant countermeasure, amounts to ceding control and emboldening lawlessness.

“It is no wonder that people now suspect that powerful sponsors may be behind this sustained instability, and the federal government’s silence only deepens that suspicion,” Onwubiko added.

As a way forward, the group called for the immediate formation of a non-partisan, regionally coordinated, and community-driven security architecture for the South-East, stressing that the time for action is now.

“Just like Amotekun in the South-West, we need a South-East security outfit to fill the gap where the federal forces have failed. The Service Chiefs must also deploy more proactive and humane strategies to flush out criminal elements and reclaim ungoverned territories.”

The group further condemned widespread extortion by security operatives on highways across the region, calling it an additional burden on already traumatised citizens.

HURIWA urged South-East leaders to rise above politics and work collectively to safeguard the region, warning that history will not be kind to those who stood by in silence as their homeland descended into chaos.