By George Mgbeleke
\nThe Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) says the reported recovery of 28 human skulls and other human remains from suspected criminal camps in Umuaku and Nneato forests in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State demands urgent and coordinated action from the South-East governors.<\/p>\n
In a statement signed by national coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko said the discovery exposes the grave security threat facing communities in the region and reinforces the need for the governors to work together to protect lives and property.<\/p>\n
HURIWA urges the six South-East governors to develop a common regional strategy against kidnapping, terrorism, armed criminal gangs and other violent threats.
\nThe association says the governors must strengthen intelligence sharing, coordinate security operations and support security agencies with credible information and logistics needed to dismantle criminal hideouts across the region.
\nHURIWA says the security challenge also threatens the economic future of the South-East.
\nThe association warns that no region can attract investment, create jobs or achieve sustainable development when citizens fear travelling, farming, doing business or returning home because of insecurity.
\nHURIWA therefore urges the governors to treat security and economic development as interconnected priorities and work together to create a safer environment for businesses and citizens.
\nHURIWA also says armed vigilante groups must operate strictly to protect lives and property.
\nThe association warns the governors against turning vigilantes into political foot soldiers or instruments for settling political differences.
\nHURIWA says community-based security groups can complement conventional security agencies, but authorities must subject them to clear rules of engagement, proper training, accountability and respect for human rights.
\nThe association welcomes the prospect of state police and says properly structured state policing could improve the capacity of governments to confront kidnappers, terrorists and other armed criminal groups.
\nHURIWA, however, demands strong constitutional and institutional safeguards to prevent governors and other political actors from abusing state police for partisan purposes.
\nThe association says state police must protect citizens, not political interests.
\nHURIWA also calls on residents across the South-East to support legitimate security operations by providing credible intelligence about suspicious movements, criminal activities and suspected hideouts.
\nThe association urges the Abia State Police Command and other relevant agencies to conduct a thorough forensic investigation into the recovered human remains, identify the victims and establish the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
\nHURIWA says the families of missing persons deserve answers and that security agencies must pursue every credible lead that can identify the victims and bring those responsible to justice.
\nThe association says the reported discovery of human remains should not become another news cycle that quickly disappears from public attention.
\nHURIWA demands sustained security operations against criminal camps and stronger cooperation between the governors, security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders and residents.
\nHURIWA says a safe and secure South-East remains imperative for economic advancement, investment, employment and sustainable development.
\nThe association therefore urges the South-East governors to put aside political differences and work collectively to restore security and public confidence across the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) says the reported recovery of 28 human skulls and other human remains from suspected criminal camps in Umuaku and Nneato forests in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State demands urgent and coordinated action from the South-East governors. In a statement signed by national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18073"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18074,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18073\/revisions\/18074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}