The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA has said the nation is currently at the mercy of kidnappers and other criminal elements disturbing the peace of the country.
HURIWA stated this in a statement forwarded to DAILY POST on Wednesday while reacting to the recent abduction of students from the Greenfield University Kaduna.
DAILY POST had reported that gunmen suspected to be bandits, invaded the university premises on Tuesday night and whisked away scores of students to unknown destination.
Reacting, HURIWA blamed President Muhammadu Buhari and the government of Kaduna State for playing politics with the nation’s security situation.
According to HURIWA, if the federal government’s commitment is directed towards protecting lives and property which is the primary purpose of government, the rampant cases of invasions of schools and kidnappings of students that keep repeating themselves would have become a thing of the past.
The statement reads: “The disconcerting news that gunmen Tuesday night attacked Greenfield, a private institution non-state and abducted some students is a glaring evidence that the Country definitely has been overrun by armed non- state actors who are emboldened by the compromised security and political establishments.
“The unfortunate addition is that Nigeria at this moment lacks functional independent legislative and Judicial branches which inevitably create serious vacuum which these desperate armed non-state actors are cashing in on this systemic collapse of any form of governance to carry out their dare-devil activities including the massive kidnappings of students at the time and place of their choosing just as Kaduna state which suffers from governance deficit has become the headquarters of kidnappings and ethnically motivated killings”.
“We are saddened that some students were abducted but nobody is ready to immediately say how many students were kidnapped. The attack (Tuesday) in Greenfield University along Kaduna-Abuja road around 20:15 hours is disheartening and shocking.
“This abysmal failure of governance is unprecedented and it is unbelievable that we are now like hostages to all kinds of armed criminals some of whom are backed by some government officials.”
The rights group has asked for the “immediate declaration of emergency rule in Kaduna state so measures by military authority can be effected to restore law and order in Kaduna state and rescue the 39 students kidnapped over a month ago because it seems like the political stakeholders in Kaduna are benefitting from the organised crimes going on there”.
