The civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has called for the arrest and prosecution of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for allegedly defending terrorists in the North-West of Nigeria.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, condemned the Federal Government’s alleged selective adherence to counter-terrorism laws by failing to arrest the Kaduna-based cleric.
The rights group said it was morally wrong that the Federal Government had kept Mazi Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra in detention for 10 years for seeking the self-determination of the Igbo-speaking region of Nigeria, but looked the other way while the cleric continuously provided intellectual support to North-West-based terrorists and polluted the media space by canvassing amnesty for mass murderers and terrorists.
HURIWA reminded President Bola Tinubu that the country has detailed counter-terrorism provisions in its domestic law.
According to HURIWA, Section 1(3) of the 2022 Act redefines an act of terrorism as one that is wilfully performed with the intention of furthering an ideology, whether political, religious, racial, or ethnic, and which may seriously harm or damage a country or international organisation, unduly compel a government or an international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act, seriously intimidate a population, seriously destabilise or destroy the fundamental political, constitutional, economic, or social structures of a country or an international organisation, influence a government or an international organisation by intimidation or coercion.
And violate the provisions of any international treaty or resolution to which Nigeria is a party, subject to the provisions of Section 12 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
This includes acts that cause or result in an attack on a person’s life in the form of grievous bodily harm or death, kidnapping, destruction of government or public facilities, transport systems, infrastructural facilities (including national critical information infrastructure), fixed platforms located on the continental shelf, public places, or private property, which may likely endanger human life or result in major economic loss, among others.
The group also condemned some northern states for allegedly funding protests in parts of Northern Nigeria, rejecting the offer of military assistance against terrorists killing Christians and other Nigerians as made by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
HURIWA said allowing the protests to continue, especially in the North, shows that some top politicians are actually sponsors of terrorists. It added that this should be a wake-up call for the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to uncover those funding terrorists who are now sponsoring public protests against U.S. intervention to eliminate terrorists responsible for over 40,000 deaths, mostly Christians, and the destruction of churches and places of worship of moderate Muslims.
The cleric also drew a controversial comparison between bandits and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), accusing the latter of rejecting dialogue and pursuing secession.
“It’s unlike the others like IPOB. The government has been trying to dialogue with them; they still refuse. They are still behind creating a separate state. They are secessionists. Besides being terrorists, they are secessionists. Well, these people (bandits) are not secessionists. They want peace,” Gumi said.
HURIWA also backed the call for the arrest of Gumi made by the General Overseer of El-Buba Outreach Ministries, who stated that apprehending the Islamic cleric would enable the Nigerian government to resolve the country’s security challenges in less than a week.
The group recalled that Prophet Isa El-Buba, speaking during an interview with News Central TV, alleged that Gumi’s connections to bandits make him central to solving Nigeria’s insecurity.
According to the cleric, representatives of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have previously stated that Nigeria would not experience peace unless certain demands were met.
HURIWA stated that the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Constitution, which guarantee fundamental human rights, do not support the public canvassing of terrorist positions.
HURIWA questioned how President Trump’s threats to bomb terrorists had been misinterpreted by alleged sponsors of terrorism as threats to attack Nigeria, as though Nigeria were a terrorist state.
“President Trump only made threats to massively bomb terrorists in their hideouts. How then are some Nigerians interpreting that to mean that Trump is threatening to bomb Nigeria?
“Maybe some of us are missing some vital information regarding how well connected these sponsors of terrorists are, to the point that they are now moulding the official narratives of the Federal Government to appear as though Trump is threatening to bomb Nigeria,” the group added.
By : Guardian Nigeria
