The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS
ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to
ensure that the armed thugs belonging to his political family the All
Progressives Congress (APC) who burnt to death in her house the Women
Leader of People’s Democratic party (PDP) in Kogi state -Mrs. Acheju
Abuh are arrested, prosecuted and punished or his government would be
dragged before the Internatioal Criminal Court in The Hague Netherlands.
HURIWA carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari; the First Lady Mrs Aisha
Buhari; Women Affairs Minister Mrs. Pauline Tallen and the leadership of
the National Council for Women Societies and Women Rights campaigners
for their collective silence on this atrocious burning of a Woman to a
gruesome death by armed thugs of the ruling political party only because
of her political beliefs and for her support for the governorship
candidate of the People’s Democratic party (PDP).
“HURIWA is shocked and saddened that For over a week since after this
satanical atrocity happened of setting ablaze a Woman by armed political
thugs who have till now not been arrested and the leadership of Women in
Nigeria led by the wife of the president has said nothing nor has the
ministry of Women Affairs or the National Council of Women Societies
added their voices in condemnation of this evil act. The silence is
painful and for the fact that Mr. President went about celebrating the
pyrrhic victory of his candidate Yahaya Bello in the Kogi election and
could not even order for the observation of some minutes of silence to
honour the memory of the PDP women leader killed by armed thugs of APC
in Kogi shows the devaluation of the sanctity of human life under the
current dispensation. The act of burning this woman to a painful and
undeserving animalistic death is such that if the killers are not
arrested and punished within a record time then civil Rights bodies can
file a petition before the International Criminal court in The Hague
Netherlands to possibly try the Kogi state governor for alleged crimes
against humanity even as the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu
may be included in the list of the accused persons since the Nigerian
police force managed the security during the Kogi governorship poll
during which this lady was set alight and killed willfully. The
President Muhammadu Buhari who thinks since he is in his last tenure he
can afford to be reckless could even be named as an interested party
because as the commander-in-chief of the Armed forces of Nigeria this
sort of atrocity happened and his administration failed in their
obligation to prevent the violations of human rights including the
violation of the Rights to life of the PDP’s Women Leader killed in Kogi
State.By becoming parties to international treaties, States including
Nigeria, assume obligations and duties under international law to
respect, protect and fulfil human rights for all persons within their
territory or jurisdiction, without discrimination of any kind.Further,
“States, including all branches thereof, have the primary responsibility
for the promotion and protection of all human rights, including the
prevention of human rights violations. Under these universal
obligations, the Nigerian government ought to have put mechanisms in
place to prevent the burning to death of the Women Leader of People’s
Democratic party in Kogi state and worst still, the Nigerian Police
Force had over 60,000 armed police operatives in Kogi state during the
governorship election but these armed security forces refused to prevent
the atrocious burning to death of the opposition politician who was a
Women Leader of People’s Democratic party “.
Citing documents of the International Human Rights Council, HURIWA
affirmed that: “The obligations of States include the duty to protect
against human rights abuse by third parties, including private actors.
States may breach their international human rights law obligations where
they fail to take appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and
redress private actors’ abuse like in the case of the Women Leader of
People’s Democratic party in Kogi state burnt to death by violent
fanatics of All Progressives Congress. The obligation to prevent human
rights violations is expressly formulated in some treaties and has been
addressed more broadly in human rights treaty bodies’ General Comments
and reports, notably in relation to: the prevention of torture,
genocide, mass atrocities, incitement to hatred, violent extremism, and
the elimination of discrimination on particular grounds (such as
race,religion or belief or sexual orientation(A/HRC/29/23)) or with
regard to a particular group (such as women, persons with
disabilitiesand minorities (A/HRC/28/30, paras. 13–14); A/69/66)..
Nigeria is a signatory to all these treaties.”
HURIWA stated that the killing of the PDP’S Women leader took place
because the Nigerian State failed in its obligation to prevent such
callous and heartless act of violence on an innocent citizen just as the
Rights group reminded the Federal government that the consideration of
prevention of violation of these specific rights highlights some common
features and approaches to prevention, including the identification of
risk and mitigating factors, and the development of some practical
tools.
“For example, the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing
and crimes against humanity requires “sustained efforts to build the
resilience of societies to atrocity crimes by ensuring that the rule of
law is respected and that all human rights are protected, without
discrimination. Sadly, the sanctity of human life has over time under
the current dispensation in Nigeria suffered grave violations with many
citizens getting killed by armed non state actors and many others are
extra legally executed by state sponsored security forces and not a
single indicted person is prosecuted just like in the instant case of
the Women Leader of People’s Democratic party in Kogi state”.
HURIWA recalled that the Women Leader of Wada Aro Campaign Council,
Ochadamu ward, Mrs. Acheju Abuh, was burnt alive in her home by
suspected thugs.
HURIWA said what happened was a hate crime and pure act of criminal
murder because her killing was related to her political beliefs just as
she was also the Women Leader for the campaign organisation of the
Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Musa Wada, in the
just-concluded governorship election in the state.