Robbers, last May, had invaded the residence of the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja and the incident was confirmed by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, though he said it was “a foolish attempt”.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the incompetence of the security agents and their failure to arrest the Aso Rock burglars has buoyed burglars and bandits so much so that they sacked Abuja villagers and cause dwellers to flee their homes despite living in the seat of power, kilometres away from President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group also cited the kidnappings, killings and disturbing attacks that had occurred in Abuja in the last one year including the attack and abduction of two Abuja-based journalists of PUNCH Newspapers, Solomon Odeniyi and Amarachi Orjiude, within 24-hours last March; the attack on the Abuja Bureau Chief of the Nigerian Tribune, Leon Usigbe, also in March 2022, the abduction of a PUNCH journalist, Okechukwu Nnodim, in February 2021; amongst numerous others that went unreported in the media.

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “It is shameful and a pointer to the inefficiency of all the security agents that one year after daring burglars invaded the residence of a whole Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, a street to that of the President in Aso Villa, the police, the DSS, the Army and others are yet to fish out the perpetrators. Or have they gotten the so-called burglars but failed to revert to Nigerians about the development?

“The whole security architecture is also yet to be ascertained how armed robbers gained access into the ‘well-fortified’ Presidential Villa manned by a combined team of policemen, DSS operatives, and men of the Presidential Guards Brigade of the Nigeria Army. Sadly, till date, this invasion has yet to be resolved.

“Contrastively, more than 725 people have been arrested for storming the United State Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Over 71 rioters have also received criminal sentences, while the rest are waiting for their trials or haven’t yet reached plea agreements for charges ranging from obstruction of an official proceeding to assault.

The continuous state of insecurity in Nigeria and the shameless incapacity of the security agencies to secure even the FCT is now obvious. If the security agents cannot even secure Aso Villa and the FCT which is about the smallest state if we take it to be a state and the seat of national power, then the hope of the common man is quashed.

“It’s pathetic that FCT residents now flee to the central business district of Abuja over attacks and invasion by marauding bandits in communities outside of the Central Areas of the metropolis.The Buhari regime must wake up and proffer radical solutions to the insecurity situation in the country.Nigerians must also demand accountability from the security agencies because defence sector got the largest chunk of budget this year. why is nobody being punished for failing to safeguard lives of Nigerians despite that the cardinal role of the government is the security of lives and property? Enough is enough.”

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, made this known in a statement while reacting to the arrest and release of the Executive Director of the International Press Institute based in Lagos and former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Lanre Arogundade.

The activist left Nigeria on January 30, 2022, for Banjul, The Gambia, to attend a conduct a training programme on ‘Conflict Reporting for Journalists’. The training programme was organised by the UNESCO (Gambia) and International Press Institute. Arogundade returned to Nigeria this afternoon but was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport by the secret police.

No reason has been adduced for the arrest and detention of Arogundade and his name is not on any watch list.

Reacting, HURIWA said, “Though the activist was released hours later after outrage by the civil society community in the country, it is important to note that the SSS has turned itself to an attack bulldog unleashed against anyone perceived as not being part of the shenanigans of the regime of Buhari.

“Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression and the press. The SSS and the attack dogs of the Buhari regime should know that the civil society group in Nigeria won’t be browbeaten and intimidated by the coercive forces of security agents. The government of the day must also realise that Nigeria is under democracy and there is no room for jackboots and dictator-like tendencies, no matter how subtle it is. The SSS must publicly apologise to Mr Arogundade for trampling on his fundamental human rights. The secret police must do this and publicise it in national dailies with immediate effect. Nigeria is no Banana Republic,”