The Human Rights Writers Affiliation of Nigeria (HURIWA) has referred to as for instant sanctions following stories that 9 army officers allegedly linked to Boko Haram terrorists escaped from a army guardroom at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Borno State.
In an announcement issued yesterday by its Nationwide Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group mentioned data filtering out of Maiduguri indicated that the officers escaped on Monday from the cantonment the place they had been being detained.
HURIWA described the event as “deeply troubling”, notably at a time when the nation is grappling with the USA authorities’s warning of potential airstrikes concentrating on terrorist teams equivalent to Boko Haram and ISWAP.
“If the report is factually correct, then there’s extra to it than meets the attention,” Onwubiko mentioned. “It means there’s a excessive community of conspiratorial plots inside the command constructions, and these collaborators and saboteurs of the struggle on terror should be recognized, arrested, prosecuted for treason, and jailed for all times.”
The group urged the Chief of Defence Employees, Common Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Military Employees, Lieutenant Common Taoreed Lagbaja, to deal with the matter as a high-priority case and make sure the instant re-arrest of the escapees.
“If that is true, it validates the place of Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, that saboteurs inside the army are undermining the combat in opposition to terrorism,” Onwubiko mentioned.
Though the Nigerian Military has but to formally touch upon the reported incident, the escapees had been allegedly concerned in arms trafficking to terrorist teams working within the North-East. Reviews of the jailbreak have reportedly raised severe concern inside Nigeria’s safety institution.
HURIWA expressed disappointment that the escape occurred simply days after President Bola Tinubu appointed new service chiefs, describing it as “a deliberate act to ship a message that saboteurs inside the system really feel untouchable.”
The group warned that permitting such high-profile suspects to flee was a severe breach of nationwide safety.
“Once we name for heads to roll, we actually imply that dangerous eggs should be instantly weeded out of the Military,” the assertion added. “It’s time for a clear overhaul of the army operations in opposition to terrorists, because the infiltration of the establishment by informants and arms suppliers is a nationwide shame.”
