HURIWA raises alarm, Anambra attacks politically motivated  

A group, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA), has raised an alarm, claiming suggested the attacks being unleashed on Anambra State are funded by political forces that are afraid of the emergence of the new political order led by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, which  may displace them. The group tasked the Anambra State governor to invest substantially into intelligence–driven security to be able to capture, decapitate and degrade these forces bent on destabilizing Igboland.

HURIWA is also urging Governor Chukwuma Soludo to speak less about the state of insecurity because the funders of the campaign of destruction and instability are buoyed know that there is sufficient evidence of tension and panic amongst the appointees of Governor Soludo to determine how successful their agenda are being implemented.

HURIWA said that the Anambra State governor needs to invests resources and manpower to uncover the forces wanting to destroy Anambra State so as to gain a foothold in destroying other South Eastern States.

HURIWA in a related development has tasked heads of the security institutions to put Nigeria above their ethno- religious agenda and implement result-oriented mechanisms to stop the emerging terror network made up mostly of “commercial motorcyclists” from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Chad and Cameroon, who are already showing signs of their avowed determination to destabilize Nigeria. “Security agents must be put to work to use Intelligence led investigative skills to uncover the plotters and those recruiting these commercial motorcyclists because they are surely not lone wolves but are persons brought in to execute politically motivated destabilising agenda for some entrenched forces scared that they may lose their political foothold in Nigeria once the current system is transited to the next government,” the group said.

HURIWA stated that the security forces may have indirectly permitted the influx of illegal aliens who are then given commercial bikes by their sponsors and are kept on stand-by for deployment towards the coming general elections. HURIWA said Concrete evidence of their well-coordinated plots can be discerned by the extent of their reach, networks and their near- infinite capacity to be mobilised within so short a time to wreak havocs even before security agents arrive.

HURIWA said there is the urgent need for Nigeria to declare a state of emergency on commercial bike riders and a national security task force to be set up to coordinate surveillance and effective monitoring of the underground plots of these suspicious ‘Okada riders’ who are already venting their angst all around Nigeria.

“We are shocked that even after the Lagos State Police command seems to have uncovered the agenda of these largely foreign commercial bike riders, the security forces seem to have relaxed and continued business-as -usual instead of stepping up monitoring activities and this lethargic approach to security is the reason for the spike in terror attacks by the commercial bike riders,” the group said.

HURIWA said the disclosure by the Lagos State Police Commissioner that foreign Okada riders had infiltrated Nigeria and are being used for crimes is such a formidable intelligence that shouldn’t be overlooked or treated with levity as Nigerian government often does.

The group recalled that the  Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, CP Abiodun Alabi, had said that they are going after foreigners operating as commercial motorcyclists (Okada) in the state.

The group noted that CP Alabi said last week Friday that the Lagos Sate Command was aware that foreigners were operating as motorcyclists in Nigeria’s major commercial city. The CP spoke while parading 13 suspects for alleged involvement in various crimes in the last one month.

Many of the motorcyclists operating in Lagos and some neighbouring states are nationals of Niger Republic, Togolese, and Chad.

“We are aware that many commercial motorcyclists operating in Lagos are foreigners and we have commenced routine checks with the aim of profiling them.

“When we finish the profiling, we will hand them over to the Nigeria Immigration Service for further investigation and possible repatriation,” he had said.

On the inflow of motorcycles into Lagos State, Alabi said the command was activating the old strategy by deploying officers to all border towns to check every means of importing motorcycles into the state.

“We are going to carry out the old strategy by ensuring that no motorcycle comes into the state. We will seize any motorcycle found in any vehicle coming into Lagos,” he said.

The CP had last week advised that people should stop giving out motorcycles as means of empowerment but adopt other meaningful venture.

Alabi, on was reacting to the total ban of commercial motorcycles in some local government areas in Lagos.

“People buying Okada (motorcycles) as empowerment for people should have a rethink.

“The fact remains that banning Okada in Lagos while some people are bringing them in through empowerment is giving police problems in implementing the already existing laws,” he said.

HURIWA commended the Lagos State Police Commissioner for making this far reaching statement but the Rights group said the National Security Adviser if he is a Patriotic Nigerian and a nationalist, should by now be working on setting up a framework for a joint natiknal security task force to follow up on this intelligence of the Lagos State Police command but HURIWA said because of Ethnicity and religious agenda, since the last 7 years, the heads of the internal security institutions who are all Moslems from Fulani/Kanuri/Hausa affiliations have looked on as these traitors bring in arms, weapons and individuals to destabilize Nigeria under their watch.

The group observed that although the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu last week slammed a fresh ban on the operations of Okada across six urbanised six local government areas of the state. They include Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Surulere, Apapa, Lagos Island, and Ikeja. HURIWA says the emerging terror cells of commercial motorcyclists go beyond Lagos State going by the recent upsurge in violent attacks masterminded by Commercial motorcyclists at the slightest provocation.