Federal Committee on Livestock should Prioritize Justice for Victims of Fulani Herdsmen Genocide- HURIWA
Oru Leonard
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, condemns the recent one-sided, biased and unnatural developments surrounding the Federal Committee on Livestock, led by His Excellency Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje erstwhile governor of Kano State, now the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and the approval of substantial funds for the construction of ranches for cattle and housing for internally displaced individuals.
In a statement signed by the National Coordinator today, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA stressed that whilst it acknowledges the strategic urgency of addressing the challenges in the livestock sector, it is imperative that justice is not denied to the victims of the extensive genocide by suspected armed herders particularly in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and virtually all parts of Nigeria including in parts of Enugu State neighbouring Benue State in which tens of thousands of farmers and absolutely innocent villagers and Indigenous natives of farming communities have been massacred, their housing and farming assets destroyed and vandalised. It is interesting to emphasize that Hausa farming communities in Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna have faced intermittent terrorism from well armed and motivated terrorists suspected to be affiliated to the Fulani ethnicity who are on well coordinated ethnic cleansing campaigns of terrorism.
We express deep concern over the silence on delivering justice to the victims who have endured persistent genocidal killings by armed Fulani terrorists. This one-sided allocation of resources to address the needs of the aggressors, who are armed Fulani terrorists, while neglecting the suffering of innocent victims, is absolutely intolerable and despicable. This approach to pacify aggressors and abandon victims to their cruel fate as is being done by the current administration certainly is a calculated offensive to the enthronement of the principle of natural justice and respect for rule of law.
The failure to hold these perpetrators accountable and bring them to justice raises significant questions about the commitment of the Federal government to uphold the principles of justice and equality for all citizens. This approach threatens to further exacerbate the existing tensions between Fulani herders and farmers in Nigeria, potentially leading to long-lasting enmity and conflict.
HURIWA calls upon the Federal Committee on Livestock, President Bola Tinubu, and the Nigerian government to rectify this situation of sustemic exclusion and imbalance immediately. Justice must be served to the victims of the Fulani herdsmen genocide, and the perpetrators must face the full force of the law. It is crucial that any solution pursued by the government is inclusive, fair, and honors the principles of justice, equality, and unity among all citizens.
The civil rights group, therefore, urge the government to reconsider its current course of action and demonstrate its commitment to a just and equitable society where the rights and security of all Nigerians are protected without discrimination.
(HURIWA Media)
Photo Credit: Linda Ikeji blog
