The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the setting up of civilian joint task force (Civilian JTF), to partner with security operatives in Abuja to fish out undesirable elements with links to the dreaded armed insurgents.

The Rights group strongly condemned as barbaric, primitive and irrational the spate of bomb attacks in the nation’s capital and called on Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, to put into place an effective mechanism for comprehensive but free and compulsory residential biometric registration for all residents of the Federal Capital Territory and the setting up of a coordinating council of all the districts of the FCT comprising trusted and tested landlords and tenants with credible crime-free records, to monitor activities of all residents of their residential areas and document and track movement of all persons on daily basis.

HURIWA, through its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, stated that since Abuja residents, irrespective of all affiliations, have become endangered species from the imminent and present danger of attacks by terrorists of the insurgent group who have infiltrated Abuja, it has become imperative that urgent measures should be adopted to save the lives and property of its inhabitants.

HURIWA pointed out that since the armed insurgents have successfully attacked several areas in Abuja with high casualties, it is necessary that the residents set up voluntary security joint task force whose mandate will cover surveillance of all flashpoints and partnering with accredited security agencies, to check the infiltration into Abuja by armed insurgents. The group also called on the political authority to set up a transparent, open and accountable body to monitor the commercial activities of sellers of gas cylinders and other facilities, which are assembled by bombers in order to checkmate further attacks.

HURIWA noted: “We call on the Federal Government to consider the purchase and distribution of effective body armours to Abuja residents, who must have been registered biometrically to reduce the effects of the improvised explosive devices. We think it is illogical to deny law abiding Nigerians the life-saving opportunity of wearing body armours, to wade off attacks by bombers on the ground that armed robbers can have access to them. It is better to save lives than to frustrate the distribution of body armours on this nebulous ground. Since it is proven that body armour can reduce the impact of improvised explosive devices, it has become imperative that extreme measures are taken by government for the time being to preserve and protect the fundamental right to life of innocent Nigerians.”

HURIWA regretted that measures taken so far in the flashpoints of insurgency are not far reaching enough, and called for an all-day surveillance of all streets and districts in Abuja by armed security operatives in partnership with civilian joint task force, as a way of checkmating these mass murderers before they strike and unleash violence on an unprecedented scale. It added: “Asking hotels to submit names of their guests does not make enough security sense since anyone can parade fake identity cards and there is no sacred rule that armed insurgents must lodge in hotels. Political authorities and members of residents’ associations should take effective proactive measures to know what happens on daily basis in their terrain, including making available functional phone contacts to provide information to the military authority in times of emergency such as these.”

•Photo shows members of Civilian JTF in Borno.

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