By George Mgbeleke

In a bid to end incessant killings in Benue and other parts of the country,the Senate on Thursday urged the Federal Government to establish a military base in Kwande, Benue State, to strengthen security and enable displaced residents to return safely.

The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance raised by Sen. Emmanuel Udende (Benue Northeast) over escalating terrorist attacks across Kwande communities.

Udende said recent coordinated assaults by armed attackers in Kwande Local Government Area left more than 20 residents dead and forced many families to flee.

He explained that the attackers targeted villages and local markets, leaving widespread destruction, displacement, and fear among residents struggling to rebuild their shattered communities.

The senator recalled that on February 5, 2026, assailants invaded a settlement in the area, killing several residents, injuring others, and destroying homes and properties.

He added that nearly 50 people were reportedly killed in the February attacks, while several residents remain missing as communities continue searching for their loved ones.

Udende said that while victims were still mourning, another wave of deadly attacks occurred across parts of Kwande in March 2026, worsening the humanitarian crisis.

According to him, on March 10, 2026, gunmen again invaded communities, killing about eleven people and spreading panic among already traumatised residents.

He also noted that another attack on March 5 in the Bachor community resulted in additional deaths and destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

“Several bodies recovered from the attacks remain unidentified, while about twenty-five persons are still missing,” Udende told lawmakers during plenary.

He warned that intimidation and arrests of local vigilantes by security operatives could undermine cooperation between community volunteers and official security agencies.

Udende said poor road networks, weak communication infrastructure, and absence of permanent security formations have continued to hinder rapid response to distress calls.

“Improved security presence and communication facilities will significantly enhance response time and protect lives in these vulnerable rural communities,” he stated.

Seconding the motion, Sen. Osita Izunaso warned that the security crisis in Benue had become a national emergency requiring urgent government intervention.

“It is unacceptable that a senator could be attacked even while worshipping in church,” Izunaso said

He described the proposed military base as a proactive step toward preventing further attacks and safeguarding lives ahead of upcoming political activities.

Also contributing, Sen. Ahmed Lawan said the recurring discussions on attacks and kidnappings showed Nigeria must rethink its overall security strategy.

“Our armed forces are not magicians. They can not defeat these criminals without adequate weapons, logistics, and timely release of operational resources,” Lawan said

He urged the National Assembly and government agencies to ensure security forces receive sufficient funding, equipment, and operational support to protect citizens.

The Senate thereafter observed a one-minute silence in honour of victims killed in attacks across Abande, Awu, Asinuba, Awapacho and other affected communities.

Lawmakers also urged security agencies to intensify surveillance, coordinated patrols and operations across the troubled communities to prevent further attacks.

The Senate further called on the federal government to establish a military base at the Ikyurav-Ya-Ukusu axis to ensure sustained security presence.

The lawmakers said the measure would enable displaced residents from affected communities in the Kwande Local government to return to their ancestral homes.

The Senate also urged telecommunications companies to install communication masts in affected areas to enable residents to make timely distress calls during emergencies.

In addition, lawmakers asked the NEMA to provide relief materials and humanitarian assistance to affected families across Kwande and other affected Benue local governments areas

By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly condemned what it described as the unjust incarceration of pro-Biafra agitator Nnamdi Kanu, declaring him a prisoner of conscience and demanding his immediate release through the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy under Nigeria’s constitution.

In a strongly worded statement issued in Abuja, the civil rights advocacy group said the continued detention and life imprisonment of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) represents one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in Nigeria’s contemporary legal history.

HURIWA recalled that on October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria quashed all the remaining charges against Kanu and ordered his immediate release after ruling that the Nigerian government violated both domestic and international law in the manner he was forcefully returned to Nigeria from Kenya in 2021. The appellate court held that the extraordinary rendition breached due process and therefore invalidated the prosecution against him.

The rights group noted that rather than comply with the appellate court’s ruling, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which subsequently overturned the earlier ruling and ordered that the trial resume at the Federal High Court.

According to HURIWA, the decision of the federal government to challenge a judgment that had already ordered Kanu’s release demonstrated what it described as “deep-seated hostility and discriminatory animus against the Igbo people.”

The group stated that the trial that followed under Justice James Omotosho was marred by what it called “palpable hostility and predetermined conclusions,” arguing that the court relied heavily on interpretations of Kanu’s broadcasts while failing to establish direct evidence linking him to any specific acts of violence or killings.

The organisation said agitation for self-determination cannot automatically be equated with terrorism, stressing that international human rights norms recognise the right of peoples to advocate peacefully for political autonomy.

HURIWA further compared Kanu’s imprisonment with the historical detention of the late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, arguing that Nigeria has a troubling tradition of jailing vocal critics of the state.

“History is repeating itself,” the group stated. “Just as the Nigerian state once targeted Fela Anikulapo-Kuti for his radical dissent, today it is targeting Nnamdi Kanu for his political beliefs and advocacy for self-determination.”

The rights body also raised questions about what it called unequal treatment in dealing with separatist agitation across Nigeria.

HURIWA noted that Yoruba nation agitator Sunday Igboho, who similarly campaigned for secession in southwestern Nigeria, had benefited from political negotiations and interventions, asking whether the continued incarceration of Kanu reflects ethnic bias.

“Justice must not be selective,” the group said. “The continued imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu raises serious concerns about whether the Nigerian state is applying the law equally to all citizens regardless of ethnicity.”

The advocacy organisation therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invoke the constitutional prerogative of mercy to secure Kanu’s immediate release in the interest of national reconciliation, peace and justice.

HURIWA argued that freeing Kanu would help de-escalate tensions in the South-East and open the door for constructive dialogue on the political grievances that have fueled agitation in the region.

“The continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu serves no constructive national purpose,” the statement concluded. “He should be released immediately as a prisoner of conscience and allowed to pursue his political beliefs peacefully within the bounds of democratic engagement.”

By George Mgbeleke

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has issued a seven-working-days ultimatum to the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately arrest and prosecute terrorists allegedly known to authorities, following explosive claims by Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi that the government possesses the names and locations of every terrorist operating in the country.

The civil rights group warned that failure by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act decisively within the stipulated time would compel it to escalate the matter internationally, including filing formal petitions to Donald Trump, the United States Congress, and the International Criminal Court, seeking an investigation into what it described as the Nigerian government’s “apparent tolerance or protection of terrorists responsible for mass killings across the country.”

In a strongly worded statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, HURIWA said Gumi’s recent televised remarks had raised grave national security and legal questions that the federal authorities must urgently address.

The group recalled that during an interview on DRTV, the Kaduna-based cleric publicly declared that the Nigerian government knows the identity and exact location of every terrorist operating within the country. Gumi also insisted that his controversial visits to bandit camps were not done secretly but with the knowledge and presence of security agencies.

According to Gumi, “the government knows everyvv terrorist by name and location,” adding that when he engages with armed groups, he does not go alone but in the company of the police, military, and other security agencies.

Reacting to the development, HURIWA said the claim, if true, would amount to one of the most shocking admissions of state failure in Nigeria’s ongoing war against terrorism.

“HURIWA finds the statement credited to Sheikh Ahmad Gumi extremely disturbing. If indeed the Federal Government knows every terrorist by name and location as claimed, then Nigerians deserve to know why these criminals continue to roam freely, kidnapping schoolchildren, murdering farmers, attacking communities and destabilising the nation,” the group said.

The organisation insisted that if the government already possesses actionable intelligence identifying terrorists and their hideouts, there can be no justification for the continued bloodshed across several states.

“We are therefore giving the Federal Government of Nigeria seven working days to arrest the terrorists whose identities and locations are allegedly known to the authorities and to immediately commence their prosecution in accordance with Nigerian law,” the statement added.

HURIWA further argued that the continued freedom of the cleric himself, despite his admitted interactions with terrorist groups, raises troubling questions about the seriousness of Nigeria’s counter-terrorism policy.

“If Sheikh Gumi truly has extensive knowledge of the identities and locations of terrorists, why have security agencies not invited him for comprehensive questioning or investigation? His freedom without scrutiny lends credibility to his assertion that the government is already aware of these terrorists and yet has failed to act,” the group said.

The rights organisation warned that if no concrete action is taken within seven working days, it will initiate international legal advocacy to hold Nigeria’s leadership accountable for what it described as crimes against humanity arising from persistent terrorist attacks.

“HURIWA will formally petition the United States Congress, the administration of President Donald Trump, and the International Criminal Court to demand a global inquiry into the Nigerian government’s handling of terrorism, including the possibility that state negligence or complicity is enabling these atrocities,” it stated.

The group argued that persistent massacres, kidnappings, and attacks on civilians in Nigeria meet the threshold of crimes against humanity under international law if authorities knowingly fail to prevent them.

HURIWA also cited several legal authorities establishing that individuals who possess knowledge of serious crimes and fail to report or act upon such knowledge may themselves face criminal liability.

The organisation referenced Section 10 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, which criminalises knowingly assisting, facilitating, or failing to disclose information relating to terrorist activities.

The group also pointed to provisions of the Criminal Code Act, which recognise the offence of being an accessory after the fact where a person knowingly aids offenders to evade justice.

HURIWA further cited the landmark case of R v. Sykes, which established that a person who knowingly assists offenders or shields them from prosecution becomes criminally liable.

Another relevant authority, the Nigerian Supreme Court decision in FRN v. Osahon, reaffirmed the duty of citizens and law enforcement institutions to cooperate in bringing offenders to justice and preventing impunity.

According to the rights group, these legal precedents reinforce the principle that possessing credible knowledge of criminal activities without taking steps to report or stop them may amount to complicity.

“The law is clear that silence or inaction in the face of known criminal activity can amount to aiding and abetting crime. This is why the Federal Government must urgently clarify whether Sheikh Gumi’s claims are accurate and, if they are, immediately move to neutralise these terrorists,” HURIWA said.

The organisation stressed that the ultimatum is intended to compel transparency and decisive action at a time when millions of Nigerians are living under constant threat of terrorist attacks.

“HURIWA will not stand idly by while Nigerians are slaughtered daily. If the government knows these terrorists and their locations, then the time for excuses has expired. The time for arrests and prosecution is now,” the group declared.
[11/03, 15:00] Jonas-Champion: Defection: 3 PDP Reps Defect to APC.

1 Moves to Accord Party As Another LP House Member Joins APC

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

Following the defection of many state governors.elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, the party has lost three of its members to the APC in the House of Representatives.

The federal lawmakers who defected to the ruling APC are Hon.Inuwa Garba representing Yamaltu/Deba Federal Constituency of Gombe State, Hon Hon.Abdullahi El-Rasheed representing Dukku/Nafada Federal Constituency of Gombe State and Hon.Muhammed Audu representing Karim Lamido/Lau/ Ardo-Kola Federal Constituency of Taraba State

Others are Hon.Adewale Adebayo representing Olorunda/Osogbo/ Irepodun/Orolu Federal Constituency of Osun State who joined the Accord Party and Hon.Joshua Chinedu Obika representing Abuja Municipal Area Council AMAC and Bwari Federal Constituency who defeated to the APC form the Labour Party LP.

The decampee lawmakers defection was conveyed to the green chamber in separate letters read on the floor of the House by the Speaker Rt.Hon.Tajudeen Abbas on Wednesday in Abuja

Wheras the estwhile Peoples Democratic Party former members cited irreconcilable division in the party and inability of the leaders of the party to bring the warring factions to the negotiation table, their colleague elected under the banner of the Labour Party LP said it was due to inability of the party to succeefuly field-in a candidate for the last Area Council election in the nation’s capital.

Some of the the decampee lawmakers also said that their decision on the defection was followed by prior extensive consultation with their constituents who elected them into the House.

The Speaker Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas welcomed the lawmakers into the ruling party and expressed optimism that their decision to join the party will enhance their contributions to legislative duties in the parliament.

End