HURIWA faults Buhari, Lalong for negotiating with killers in Plateau

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for reportedly endorsing a ‘peace treaty’ between alleged aggressors of Fulani stock and Christians of Plateau State.

The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, also asked the people of Plateau State to hold their governor, Simon Lalong, responsible for unprecedented insecurity in the state.

He described appeasement of mass killers as the reason for endless insecurity in the country.

“You do not negotiate with mass killers but you bring them to justice or take justice to them,” he asserted.

HURIWA said that Lalong’s administration failed to work with the House of Assembly, in his first term, to stamp out the earliest manifestations of armed Fulani insurgency targeting Christians.

It noted that prior to the “illegal impeachment” of the former Speaker of the Assembly, the House had, on August 26, 2021, given the governor two weeks to address the security challenges in the state.

The statement reads: “HURIWA attributed the heightened state of insecurity to the possible shift of base by Fulani terrorists, from the fringes of Plateau in Kaduna to stage daring raids of Plateau Christian communities due to the lethargic approach adopted by Governor Lalong, who prefers negotiation and dialogue with perceived aggressors to the implementation of the security template served him by the House of Assembly led by the impeached Speaker by just eight out of the 24 members.

“The government of Plateau must put up workable security architecture to frustrate the attempts by Fulani terrorists to move their operational base from Kaduna forests to neighbouring Plateau.”

The group called on Lalong to come up with a statement defending the people to bring back renewed commitment to the cause of Plateau.

“We strongly call on Plateau people to practically stand up and defend themselves and their communities, as the conventional security design is no longer guaranteeing our safety as a people,” HURIWA added.