•HURIWA carpets Kukah, Kaigama, Alia for allegedly betraying Christians in Northern Nigeria over genocide

A call by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has gone to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign forthwith if he can't protect the citizens and especially the vulnerable school children just as the rights group carpeted the Catholic clerics Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah and suspended Catholic Reverend father Mr. Hyacinth Alia for opposing the offer by President Donald John Trump to bomb terrorists attacking and killing Christians in Nigeria.

HURIWA which condemned the double tragedies of terrorists attacks of schools in Niger and Nasarawa states in which students of Catholic schools in their hundreds were whisked off by armed Islamic terrorists few hours back said it is unfortunate that the federal and state governments have spectacularly failed to protect citizens even as terrorists have struck again in Nigeria’s North-Central region, kidnapping an unconfirmed number of schoolchildren from Peter’s Foundation Secondary School in Rukubi, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, and details remain sketchy as frantic efforts are underway to reach the Nasarawa State Police Command for confirmation and updates.

Eyewitnesses say several children were whisked away, but the exact number is yet to be determined.

This fresh abduction comes hours after the Niger State Government confirmed that pupils and staff of St. Mary’s School, Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, were also kidnapped during an early-morning attack between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.

In a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alh. Abubakar Usman, of Niger State, described the incident as “deeply distressing and avoidable.”

He revealed that, despite earlier intelligence warnings about heightened threats in Niger North, the school reopened without seeking government clearance, contrary to directives that shut all boarding schools in the area.

“Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities without notifying or seeking clearance from the State Government, thereby exposing pupils and staff to avoidable risk,” the SSG stated.

Usman added that security agencies have launched full-scale search-and-rescue operations and are working to establish the exact number of victims. Local reports indicate that many students were taken during the raid on the Catholic-run institution.

The Head of Disaster and Relief in Agwara LGA, Ahmed Abdullahi Rofia, confirmed the attack, while the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said more information would be released as security assessments continue.

These incidents add to a growing list of attacks on educational institutions in recent weeks. Just days ago, 25 students were kidnapped in Maga, Kebbi State. In Kwara, a violent attack on a CAC church in Eruku left three worshippers dead and more than 20 abducted, prompting the closure of over 50 schools on Thursday.

The Rights group in a press statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko highlighted the factual claim that the escalating pattern has deepened anxiety across northern communities, heightening demands for improved security, stricter compliance with government advisories, and stronger community-based vigilance to curb the rising wave of school abductions.

HURIWA said:" The president of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces of Nigeria. The president singularly commands and controls the entire armed forces of Nigeria of the Sovereignty of Nigeria and if the head of state and president of Nigeria can't exert his authority and ensure that the military and police deploy the overwhelming machinery of controlled violence at the behest of the constituted authority and decimate, degrade and defeat terrorists and ISWAP fighters terrorising school children and other citizens of the country for which the President swore an oath to discharge his duty which constitutionally is primarily to protect lives and property of Nigerians, he should resign so a much more competent leader can come to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria."

HURIWA said the governors are the chief security officers of their states and by section 7 are to ensure that the state Houses of Assembly make laws to create armed vigilantes to secure the lives of their people in partnership with the existing armed forces of Nigeria which have the primary duty of defending the territorial integrity of the country, then the governors of Niger state and Nasarawa state should resign immediately.

The rights group condemned the Niger state governor for blaming the school in which hundreds of students were whisked off by terrorists just as the Rights group wondered why the governor couldn't take proactive measures given the intelligence available at his desk, to deploy armed security forces and to inform the President to similarly deploy well equipped armed forces to defend and prevent school children from the attacks by the blood cuddling monsters.

HURIWA carpeted the trio of Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah and suspended Catholic Reverend father Mr Hycinth Alia for opposing the offer by President Donald John Trump to wipe out terrorists who are responsible for killings of Christians in Nigeria just as HURIWA said it will petition Pope Leo XIV to censure the trio of the aforementioned clerics of the Catholic faith for betraying their flocks.

"We condemn Governor Alia for saying there is no genocide of Christians in Benue even after he was on tape and video and newspaper reportage asserting that the Fulani terrorists were waging unprovoked genocide against his people to take over their lands by decimating the Benue population.

“For Governor Alia who is a suspended priest to speak from both sides of his mouth at this critical time when the Bishop of Makurdi Wilfred Anegbe was presenting a position paper at the United Nations in New York to canvass American military action against terrorists waging genocide against Christians in Nigeria, shows that Alia should be outrightly defrocked and dismissed from the priesthood by the Holy See just as Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah should be strongly reprimanded by the Pope for betraying Christians facing genocide in Nigeria in the hands of Islamic terrorists or else millions of Catholic Christians would boycott the Church in Nigeria.”

HURIWA condemned Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama for attending a solo secret meeting with president Tinubu four days after Trump threatened to bomb terrorists attacking and killing Christians in Nigeria and when he came out he told a foreign news agency that the USA must be careful because if bombs are thrown there could be collateral damage. "Why would one Catholic Bishop attend a meeting instead of the leadership of the Catholic Bishops conference of Nigeria? Why should Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama who is from Taraba state that faces genocide of Christians in that state by Islamic terrorists be the person opposing the designation of Nigeria as a country of particular interest by the USA and the consequent plan by America to bomb terrorists attacking and killing Christians in Nigeria?"