A pro-democracy and Non-Governmental Organisation, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has carpeted Defence Spokesman, Major General John Enenche, for saying the military wouldn’t strike armed Fulani herdsmen because the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers are like two brothers fighting.
Besides, the rights group has dismissed as unconstitutional and completely illogical, the affirmation by the Defence Spokesman that the armed Fulani attacks across the country demands political solution, saying that the statement is the clearest sign of policy inconsistency of the current government to confront terrorism of armed Fulani herdsmen in compliance with the laws of the federation.
The group has therefore advised the communities already affected by the mass killings and destruction of their farmlands and family members mauled to their untimely deaths by armed Fulani terrorists to approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek justice.
It affirmed that under the International Crimes Court Rome’s statute, the global crimes court’s in The Hague Netherlands jurisdiction can be activated if it is clear that the home government lacks political will to punish mass murderers.
According to the group, because from the disclosure of the Defence Spokesman it shows that government has compromised on protecting national security. “Armed Fulani herdsmen are the greatest threat to national security now,” HURIWA in a statement jointly endorsed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf.
The group advised the communities devastated by persistent armed Fulani attacks to take measures to compel the National Assembly to prevail on President Buhari to crush armed Fulani herdsmen or be impeached for endangering National Security.
“Section 281(1) specifically provides thus: ‘The powers of the president as the Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation’.”
But HURIWA said the failure of President Buhari to crush armed Fulani herdsmen amounted to a breach of his oath of office.
HURIWA cited 218(1) of the constitution to argue that the Defence Spokesman could not have stated that the military will not confront armed Fulani attackers without the authorisation of the current Nigerian president just as the rights group reminded president Buhari that most Nigerians think that he is soft on armed Fulani herdsmen because they are his kinsmen.
“It is absolutely illegal and indeed amounted to an impeachable offence against president Buhari who as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Nigeria must have authorised the insensitive, callous, lawless and illogical affirmation of Major General John Enenche who spoke for the Nigerian Defence community. His preamble to the press briefing of March 30th 2017 to the effect that coordinated genocide of farmers by armed Fulani terrorists are just fights between brothers shows the height of policy flip-flops and inconsistency to combat these serial violence all across Nigeria.
“As the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has subscribed to the constitutional oath of office not to allow his private affairs to constitute a clog in the wheel of discharging his primary duty of providing security and welfare to all Nigerians. But the statement by the Defence Headquarters that the military will not use force to combat the raging terrorism of armed Fulani attacks is both unconstitutional and unacceptable,” HURIWA said.
It cited the seventh schedule on the oath of office of the president, which unambiguously states as follows: “That as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions; that I will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
