By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed deep concern over the reported decision of the European Union (EU) to decline the deployment of a full-scale election observation mission to Nigeria for the 2027 general elections, describing the development as a bad omen for Nigeria’s democracy and international democratic reputation.
HURIWA said the decision, reportedly linked to the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria and the alleged hostile treatment of EU observers and officials following the 2023 elections, should not be treated casually by the Federal Government.
The organisation said the development ought to serve as a serious wake-up call to the government, security agencies and all stakeholders responsible for safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.
HURIWA recalled that the European Union has maintained a substantial election observation presence in Nigeria over several electoral cycles. Its reported decision to limit its involvement in the 2027 elections to a small number of officials in Abuja, without long-term observers across the states, short-term observers on election day or a chief observer, is therefore a significant development that should concern every Nigerian.
We consider this a bad omen that demands urgent corrective action.
Nigeria cannot build a credible democracy in an environment where insecurity prevents citizens from freely travelling, political parties from campaigning, electoral officials from reaching polling units and observers from independently monitoring elections.
The security situation must therefore be treated as a fundamental component of the preparations for the 2027 general elections.

TERRORISTS MUST NOT DETERMINE NIGERIA’S DEMOCRATIC FUTURE

HURIWA strongly calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intensify the national war against terrorism, banditry, insurgency and other violent criminal activities capable of threatening the 2027 electoral process.
The objective must be to create a sufficiently peaceful and secure atmosphere in which Nigerians can campaign, vote and participate in the democratic process without fear.
Terrorists and other criminal groups must never be allowed to determine where Nigerians can travel, where candidates can campaign or whether citizens can exercise their constitutional right to vote.
We therefore call for sustained military pressure against terrorist networks and their collaborators, including the disruption of their logistics, financing, recruitment and operational capabilities.

HURIWA COMMENDS CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF

HURIWA also wishes to commend the Chief of Army Staff for what we consider the recent commendable reports coming from the Nigerian Army in the ongoing fight against terrorism.
These developments demonstrate that when our security forces are properly motivated, equipped, strategically coordinated and professionally led, meaningful progress can be achieved in the battle against terrorism and other security threats.
We urge the Chief of Army Staff not to relent in this direction and to continue building upon the recent operational gains.
At the same time, we call on all the service chiefs to continuously work out far-reaching strategic joint partnerships and coordinated operational mechanisms capable of delivering a decisive blow against terrorist organisations operating in Nigeria.

SERVICE CHIEFS MUST FIGHT TERRORISM AS ONE

HURIWA strongly advocates greater synergy among the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force and intelligence agencies.
Terrorists do not operate according to institutional boundaries. They move across forests, communities, borders and geopolitical zones, and exploit gaps between security agencies.
Nigeria’s security architecture must therefore respond with an equally coordinated strategy.
We call for deeper intelligence sharing, joint operational planning, coordinated air and ground operations and stronger mechanisms for tracking terrorist logistics and financing.
The objective should not merely be the periodic elimination of individual terrorists but the systematic dismantling of the networks that recruit, finance, arm, transport and shelter them.

EU DECISION SHOULD TRIGGER NATIONAL SOUL-SEARCHING

HURIWA equally urges the Federal Government to carefully examine the second reason reportedly given by the EU—the alleged hostile treatment of its observers and officials following the publication of its 2023 election report.
International election observers must never be treated as enemies because their reports contain criticisms of the conduct of Nigerian elections.
Where observers identify weaknesses in electoral administration, the appropriate democratic response is to examine the findings, correct the weaknesses and strengthen the system.
We therefore call on the Federal Government and political actors to guarantee a safe and conducive environment for all accredited domestic and international election observers during the 2027 elections.

SECURE 2027 BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

HURIWA maintains that the 2027 general elections cannot be secured merely through election-day deployment of security personnel.
The security of the election begins now.
Political candidates must be able to travel across the country. Political parties must be able to organise lawful campaigns. Electoral officials must be able to access every part of the country. Journalists and observers must be able to perform their duties without intimidation, while voters must be able to reach polling units without fear.
We therefore call on the Federal Government to:
Intensify the counter-terrorism campaign nationwide;
Strengthen strategic cooperation among the service chiefs;
Improve intelligence sharing among all security and intelligence agencies;
Dismantle terrorist logistics, financing and recruitment networks;
Secure vulnerable communities and transportation corridors;
Protect INEC facilities, personnel and electoral materials;
Guarantee the safety of political candidates, observers, journalists and voters;
And ensure that Nigeria’s 2027 elections take place in a peaceful and secure environment.
HURIWA believes that the fight against terrorism is inseparable from the fight to preserve democracy.
The reported EU decision should therefore not be reduced to a diplomatic embarrassment or dismissed as foreign interference. It should be treated as a warning signal that Nigeria must urgently restore security and confidence in its democratic process.
We urge President Tinubu, the Chief of Army Staff and all other service chiefs to seize the present opportunity to build on recent military gains and establish a sustained, coordinated and far-reaching campaign capable of defeating terrorism.
Nigeria must not allow terrorists to become the invisible election observers of 2027 by determining where citizens can vote, where candidates can campaign and where observers can go.
A peaceful Nigeria is the foundation of a credible election.

By George Mgbeleke

Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed grave concern over what it describes as the disturbing emergence of ethnic-based private security formations, political intimidation and attempts to restrict opposition candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

HURIWA said recent developments across the South-West constitute dangerous warning signals that must not be ignored by the Federal Government, security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all Nigerians committed to the survival of constitutional democracy.

The rights group specifically condemned the declaration by the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, that presidential candidates other than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not campaign in Osun State, describing the position as constitutionally untenable and a dangerous precedent in a democratic society.

HURIWA said no traditional ruler, political office holder or private individual possesses the constitutional authority to determine which presidential candidate Nigerians may listen to, receive or vote for in any part of the country.

The organisation warned that allowing such declarations to go unchallenged could create an atmosphere of political intimidation in which supporters of opposition parties are denied equal access to campaign platforms and voters are effectively deprived of the opportunity to hear alternative political messages.

HURIWA therefore called on the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and INEC to immediately make it clear that all presidential candidates recognised under the law are entitled to campaign freely throughout Osun State and every other part of Nigeria.

The group noted that the Constitution guarantees citizens freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement, while electoral laws provide the framework for political campaigns.

HURIWA said these rights cannot be suspended by traditional declarations or political endorsements.

‘Nigeria cannot operate a democracy of selective political access’

The rights group said it was particularly alarmed by the apparent convergence of political endorsement, traditional authority and private security structures in the run-up to 2027.

According to HURIWA, democracy becomes dangerously compromised when traditional institutions begin determining which candidates can campaign in particular territories while private or ethnic security organisations acquire substantial financial and material support.

The organisation said the situation raises fundamental questions about the neutrality of the state and the capacity of security agencies to guarantee a level playing field before, during and after the 2027 elections.

HURIWA stressed that supporting a political candidate is a constitutional right, but such support must not translate into the deployment or endorsement of private armed structures capable of influencing electoral outcomes through intimidation or force.

HURIWA questions ₦100m support for Igboho security outfit

HURIWA also expressed concern over the reported donation of ₦100 million and a brand-new Hilux vehicle by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to the Iru Ekun Security Network, a community security initiative established by Yoruba Nation advocate Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.

The group said it was not opposed to legitimate community-based efforts to protect lives and property but insisted that security remains fundamentally a responsibility of the constitutional security agencies.

HURIWA said the development demands transparency over the legal status, command structure, operational mandate and accountability mechanisms of such security formations.

The organisation warned that Nigeria cannot afford a situation where different ethnic groups establish, arm, finance or operate parallel security structures outside clearly defined constitutional and statutory controls.

‘Why should one ethnic militia be tolerated while another is crushed?’

HURIWA recalled what it described as the government’s previous treatment of the security structures associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), stressing that the principle of equality before the law must apply to all Nigerians and all groups.

The rights organisation said it was therefore deeply concerned by what it considers an emerging double standard in the treatment of ethnic security formations.

HURIWA asked the Federal Government to explain why an ethnic-affiliated security structure should be tolerated, encouraged or materially supported while another ethnic security formation is subjected to severe security operations.

The organisation maintained that the answer cannot be political loyalty or electoral usefulness.

HURIWA therefore renewed its call for the blanket prohibition of ethnic-based militias and unregulated private armies across Nigeria.

“A private army is a private army, irrespective of who establishes it, who finances it or which political interest it serves.”

The organisation warned that such structures could become particularly dangerous during the 2027 presidential election if deployed to intimidate voters, suppress opposition campaigns, influence polling environments or enforce political directives.

HURIWA: Disarm all ethnic militias before 2027

HURIWA urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate that the Federal Government has no favourites in the enforcement of national security laws by ordering a comprehensive review of all ethnic-based security outfits operating across the country.

The group said government must establish clear rules governing community security initiatives and ensure that no group is permitted to transform itself into an armed political force.

It further demanded that security agencies investigate any allegation of illegal possession, movement or deployment of arms by private or ethnic security formations.

HURIWA said waiting until the election season is fully underway before confronting the problem would be a grave mistake.

“A stitch in time saves nine. The Federal Government must act now before these private and ethnic security formations become instruments of electoral violence.”

HURIWA demands investigation into alleged 6,000 missing persons

HURIWA also expressed shock over allegations by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and the Ekwenche Research Institute that about 6,000 families in the South-East are allegedly searching for relatives who reportedly disappeared in the custody of security agencies since 2021.

The organisation stressed that the allegations are grave and must not be dismissed without investigation.

HURIWA said the reported disappearances, if established, would represent a serious human-rights crisis requiring urgent intervention by Nigerian institutions and credible international bodies.

The group therefore called on the Houses of Assembly of the South-East states and the National Assembly to investigate the allegations and establish the whereabouts of persons reportedly missing.

HURIWA equally challenged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate the allegations within the limits of its statutory mandate and publish its findings.

The organisation urged Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Council to independently examine the allegations and, where credible evidence of criminal conduct is established, recommend appropriate prosecution in accordance with Nigerian and international law.

HURIWA said allegations of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention or extrajudicial killings must never be allowed to become politically convenient subjects that are ignored because of the identity or region of the victims.

‘No ethnic group is above the law’

HURIWA maintained that the solution to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity cannot be the creation of competing ethnic armies.

The group said Nigeria needs one constitutional security architecture governed by clear laws, professional command structures, democratic oversight and accountability.

It warned that ethnic militias, political thuggery, private armies and unchecked traditional authority could combine into a dangerous cocktail capable of undermining the 2027 elections.

HURIWA therefore called on President Tinubu to publicly reassure Nigerians that:

No ethnic militia will be allowed to operate as a parallel army;
No traditional ruler will be permitted to restrict lawful political campaigns;
All presidential candidates will enjoy equal protection during the 2027 election;
Security agencies will remain politically neutral;
Allegations of enforced disappearances and unlawful detention will be investigated;
And every Nigerian, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or political affiliation, will enjoy equal protection under the law.

HURIWA said Nigeria’s democracy cannot survive on selective enforcement, political favouritism and ethnic security arrangements.

The organisation urged Nigerians to reject every attempt to normalise private armies and political intimidation, warning that the erosion of democratic freedoms rarely begins with the formal suspension of elections; it begins when citizens gradually lose the right to organise, campaign, speak and choose freely.

By George Mgbeleke

Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has declared the mass closure of schools across northern Nigeria a national disgrace and a damning indictment of the government’s failure to protect Nigerian children, demanding an immediate forensic investigation into the billions of naira reportedly allocated to the Safe Schools Initiative.

HURIWA’s demand follows findings that at least 65 primary and secondary schools have been shut or rendered non-functional across northern Nigeria, with insecurity forcing thousands of children out of classrooms.

In a statement signed by national coordinator of HURIWA,Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko,the rights group asked the Federal Government and the National Assembly a blunt question:
WHERE DID THE SAFE SCHOOLS BILLIONS GO?
More than a decade after the Safe Schools Initiative was launched in response to the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, terrorists, bandits and kidnappers are still dictating where Nigerian children can and cannot receive education.
In Sokoto State alone, schools in 20 of the state’s 23 local government areas have reportedly been shut indefinitely over security concerns.
HURIWA described this as an intolerable national failure, particularly against the background of the huge financial commitments announced for school security.
The organisation said Nigerians have a right to know what happened to the money appropriated and released to make schools safe.
Who received the funds? Who administered them? What contracts were awarded? What security infrastructure was delivered? How many schools were actually secured? And who should be held accountable for the glaring failure?

HURIWA said these questions can no longer be swept under the carpet.
The organisation noted that the Federal Government’s National Plan on Financing Safe Schools for 2023–2026 projected ₦144.86 billion for the programme, comprising ₦32.58 billion in 2023, ₦36.98 billion in 2024, ₦37.15 billion in 2025 and ₦38.03 billion in 2026.
It further recalled reports that more than $30 million had been mobilised for the Safe Schools Initiative since its establishment.
Yet, despite these enormous financial commitments, Nigerian children are increasingly being driven away from schools by armed groups.

HURIWA says this contradiction is too enormous to ignore and too dangerous to explain away as merely a security challenge.
The organisation therefore demands that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) immediately launch a joint forensic investigation into the Safe Schools Initiative.
The investigation must trace every naira and every dollar allocated, released or donated to the programme.
It must establish what was budgeted, what was released, who received the funds, what contracts were executed, what projects were delivered and what became of every outstanding allocation.
HURIWA said anyone found to have diverted, stolen, inflated contracts, abandoned projects or otherwise abused funds meant to protect Nigerian children must face prosecution.
Those who steal money meant to protect children’s lives and education must not be allowed to hide behind government offices, political connections or bureaucratic excuses.
The National Assembly, HURIWA said, must also explain why it has not subjected the Safe Schools Initiative to the level of scrutiny demanded by the worsening crisis.
What exactly has the National Assembly been doing while schools are shutting down?
HURIWA challenged both chambers of the National Assembly to immediately summon the relevant ministers, agencies, programme managers and contractors involved in the initiative and conduct a public and transparent hearing into its finances and performance.
The organisation warned that every additional day a school remains closed is another day Nigeria’s children are denied their future.
The consequences, it said, extend far beyond missed lessons.
Prolonged school closures create fertile ground for child labour, early marriage, trafficking, recruitment into criminal and extremist networks, radicalisation and permanent educational exclusion.
HURIWA said Nigeria cannot claim to be fighting insecurity while allowing insecurity to destroy the country’s education system.
A government that cannot keep children safe enough to attend school is failing one of its most basic responsibilities.
The organisation therefore demanded an emergency national response involving the Federal Ministry of Education, the 36 State Ministries of Education and the FCT education authorities.
The response must include credible security deployment, intelligence-led protection of vulnerable schools, safe transportation, emergency learning centres, protection for teachers, secure boarding arrangements and continuous independent monitoring of high-risk schools.
HURIWA also demanded that any funds recovered from corrupt officials or contractors be ring-fenced exclusively for rebuilding and securing affected schools.
The rights group insisted that the Safe Schools Initiative must no longer operate as another opaque government programme where huge sums are announced while the intended beneficiaries remain exposed.
Enough is enough.
Nigerian children must not become victims twice — first of terrorism and banditry, and then of corruption and official impunity.
HURIWA therefore calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally order a comprehensive audit of the Safe Schools Initiative and publish the findings for Nigerians to see.
The EFCC and ICPC must investigate.
The National Assembly must probe.
Those responsible must be prosecuted.
Looted funds must be recovered.
And every affected school must be made safe.
The money allocated to protect our children must protect our children — not the pockets of government officials, contractors or their political allies.
Nigeria’s children have waited long enough.
Their classrooms must be reopened. Their schools must be secured. Their future must not be stolen.