HURIWA Carpets Civil Defence Over Death of 7 Passengers
A Non-Governmental organisation, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the Enugu State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for causing the death of seven passengers following an ill-fated chase of a bus driver in Enugu.
In a media statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, the Rights group asked the Enugu State Governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to ensure that the operatives of the Civil Defence Corps responsible for the horrible misconduct which occasioned mass death were prosecuted for murder.
“The information reaching us from Enugu state that seven persons were burnt to death beyond recognition when a commercial bus was allegedly shot at by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and it went up in flames, is the most recorded case of deliberate mass killings by armed security forces which must not be swept under the carpets by the Enugu state government. The allegation that these killings occurred because these supposed armed Para-military agents demanded unsuccessfully for N50 bribe from the bus driver at the Milikin Hill, Ngwo Old Road, Enugu, has brought a lot of disgrace to the entire Institution of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and is such a dastardly criminal act of depravity which must be taken up by the Enugu State government.
“We have always opposed the decision to arm the operatives of the NSCDC when the Federal government came up with the plot to distribute weapons to these operatives who are deficient in professional training in areas of handling of lethal weapons.
"This primitive act of alleged robbery by these armed Paramilitary operatives which led to the killings of innocent passengers is one extra-legal killing too many to be overlooked.
We term this as robbery because no segment of the armed security forces should chase after commercial passenger buses and endanger the lives of dozens of civilians on the nebulous ground that the said commercial bus operator contravened the so-called no parking edict of the Enugu State government.