HURIWA cautions National Assembly against sabotaging war on terror
HUMAN Rights Writers Association ( HURIWA) has advised National Assembly to be very circumspect and not sabotage the war on terror by what it described as “unwarranted distraction of investigating the procurement of arms in such a way as to show that they may be doing the bidding of terrorists.”
The group specifically urged the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the House of Representatives Speaker Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, to provide patriotic leadership to guide the relevant defence related committees so their members are not recruited as undercover sympathizers of Boko Haram terrorists who will continue to spread sensational media stories regarding the propriety or otherwise of the procurement process observed in the public procurement of defence related weapons. “We think that, at a time of grave emergency and threats to the territorial integrity of Nigeria, what we expect from lawmakers is to support the hierarchy of the military with all that they need to effectively combat the threats of terrorism. After that, forensic investigations of expenses and procurements can happen in an atmosphere devoid of media sensationalism.
“We expect the legislators not to constitute unwelcomed nuisance and orchestrated distractions by organising unnecessary public show and media drama of seeking to make a devil out of the heads of the armed forces of Nigeria and, by so doing, create disaffection and demotivate the combatants by feeding them with half- baked and unsubstantiated innuendos that certain members of the military hierarchy may have diverted funds meant for procurement of arms,” the group said.
To HURIWA, “This is the most inappropriate time to do that and by the methodology they adopted, they are indirectly creating the impression that some members of the National Assembly may actually be doing the bidding of the masterminds of the terror campaigns against Nigeria.
“If we may ask: are the legislators unaware of the very characters and political functionaries within the Ministry of Defence that are directly in charge of all procurements, and don’t they know the custodian of such procurement records? Why have they not invited the minister? Why not read up the relevant laws if the members are bereft of the relevant information on the extant laws relating to procurement and that the Minister of Defence is the right person to provide all the information they seek or are they procured by the terrorists to cause disaffection by spreading false information about some missing funds?.”