HURIWA says rising attacks and killings of soldiers and civilians show Nigeria’s current counterterrorism strategy is failing.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the escalating wave of terrorists’attacks across the country, declaring that the continued killing of soldiers, security operatives and civilians was evidence that the current security strategy of the federal government has failed.
In a statement by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Obwubiko, in Abuja, on Sunday, the civil rights advocacy group said the recent spate of deadly attacks (from Plateau State to the North-East) demonstrated that Nigeria’s counterterrorism architecture has collapsed under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, warning that the country risked descending further into chaos if urgent structural reforms were not implemented.
HURIWA had reacted to reports that some 20 security operatives and vigilantes were killed in an ambush by heavily armed bandits in Wanka and surrounding communities of the Garga axis in Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State.
According to the Kanam Development Association, the victims included 12 security personnel, among them two senior military officers, as well as eight vigilante members who were assisting security forces in protecting vulnerable communities.
The joint patrol team was reportedly travelling in two vehicles during a routine security operation covering the communities of Garga, Kyaram and Gyambau when hundreds of bandits ambushed them near Wanka at about 2:00 p.m. on Friday, resulting in a deadly exchange of gunfire that left many of the operatives dead.
HURIWA described the development as a “tragic and alarming national security failure,” noting that the killing of trained soldiers and senior military officers by non-state actors should serve as a serious red flag that the country’s counterterrorism strategy is no longer working.
The group further cited additional reports of targeted killings in Plateau State, including the brutal murder of traders travelling to a market in the Barikin Ladi axis.
In that incident, gunmen reportedly stopped vehicles at an improvised checkpoint and interrogated passengers about their identity before opening fire on those who identified themselves as Hausa traders.
HURIWA also referenced reports indicating that at least 65 Nigerian soldiers were killed in coordinated raids by insurgents belonging to the Islamic State West Africa Province in the North-East within a two-week period.
The insurgents reportedly overran several military bases in Borno State, killing dozens of soldiers and abducting hundreds of civilians while deploying sophisticated weapons including anti-aircraft machine guns and drones.
