.HURIWA urges Tinubu to change service chiefs
The police have rescued three of the 30 passengers abducted along Nasarawa-Keffi road in Nasarawa State.
The victims, who were travelling in two commercial vehicles, were reportedly abducted by people suspected to be Fulani on Friday night.
The gunmen demanded a N10 million ransom from families and relations for each victim.
One of the drivers, who escaped, said a pregnant woman was beaten and abandoned, while a 60-year-old man who suffered a stroke was also dumped.
The driver reported the incident to the Uke Police Division in the state.
When contacted, spokesperson for the state police command, DSP Ranham Nansel, said three of the victims had been rescued while efforts were under way to free the rest. Nansel said the abducted persons were not up to 30 as originally claimed. However, he did not confirm the number.
“The number (30) was exaggerated. An 18-seater bus was recovered at the scene, and three people were rescued. A search and rescue operation is still ongoing,” Nansel said.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) described the incident as “the clearest red flag” signposting the collapse of law, order and security in Nigeria.
The group condemned the abduction of the travelers and that of some students of the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa.
In a statement by National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group said the President was wasting precious time by not re-organising his cabinet to weed off weak links that have pocketed humongous allowances as ministers, yet have failed to deliver on their mandates.
“What type of a government will be comfortable with the frequent violent kidnapping of students, including even primary school pupils who are being abducted in massive numbers?” it queried.
It said: “Since these security heads can’t even stop the constant attacks on their operatives, what idea do they have on how to safeguard national security? President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should, for the sake of posterity and the well-being of citizens, change his non-performing cabinet, prune out the many that have failed, and completely overhaul the national security architecture.
This includes the need to appoint fresh minds to kick start a massive campaign of wiping off terrorists from Nigeria.”
