The Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to end the military aggression in the South East with specific reference to the reported airstrikes in Imo State.
HURIWA said the deployment of airpower against South East of Nigeria even when the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) had reportedly asked their members to disengage from their activities, constituted a crime of military aggression against innocent civilians.
The group stated that the airstrikes had created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty in the entire Imo State with millions of people unsure of their safety any longer.
In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said the continuous deployment of military force in the region would, rather than solve the security challenges in the South East of Nigeria and South-South, increase since most people will assume that President Buhari had declared war on the South East region.
Citing attacks on police formations and operatives by unknown gunmen, as an instance of the increasing discontent in the zones, HURIWA, therefore, asked the government to stop the airstrikes before they lead to the loss of more innocent citizens, who now live in palpable fear and panic.
Besides, HURIWA, which described the death of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and other officers in a plane crash as tragic tasked his successor to be mindful of the human rights of citizens recognised by law.
