Vexed by the unwillingness or the incapacity of the Service Chiefs including the National Security Adviser, to roll out workable strategies to bring to the bearest minimum, the deadly attacks on Nigerians by terrorists, bandits armed herdsmen and kidnappers, a call for imposition of short term travel ban on top government officials has been made.

Leading Civil society organisation- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) which made the observation,  also asked the President to stay in Nigeria and lead the process of national reconciliation,  nation building and strengthen peace building processes in the Country just as HURIWA thinks growing food insecurity demands that the leader of a troubled nation should stay more at home and battle the hydra-headed monsters of socio-economic and security nightmares.

“The fact, in the thinking of HURIWA, is that the primary duty of government as stipulated by the constitution in section 14 (2) (b) of the Nigerian Grand norm. Also the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government met a Country thoroughly troubled by terrorist and all kinds of freelance armed non-state actors due to the apparent failure by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari to combat these forces of destruction and divisiveness.

It is therefore expected that President Tinubu should impose a voluntary ban on his foreign trips so he can lead from the front,  the war on terror”.

HURIWA regretted that terrorists have continued to unleash devastating violence on Nigerians without any fruitful, meaningful, and constructive counter-terror measures effective enough to deter the mass killers who have continued their business-as-usual killing sprees since the current administration came on board even as the Suspected terror bandits have only just launched vicious attack on Kulben community in Mangu local government area of Plateau State, killing over 10 villagers.

The Rights group regretted that whereas the service chiefs including the Inspector General of Police  and the National Security Adviser are all over the Country attending talk shops and meaningless seminars, dare-devil terror group reportedly raided the Plateau community on Sunday night. These terrorist bandits have also killed a Major Seminarian of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan in Southern Kaduna whilst they burnt down Church facilities.

“It is unimaginable that whereas several houses belonging to villagers were razed by the terrorists before eloping from the community, those charged with keeping the Country safe have nothing concrete to demonstrate their will power to combat these growing attacks and then the Commander-in-chief of the non performing armed forces of Nigeria is all over the World attending international seminars that bear no immediate economic and safety benefits for millions of Nigerians under threats of terrorism.

The Rights group offered some insights on why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and governors of the 36 states should be banned from foreign trips for another six months, asserted that the duty to begin and complete the process of national reconciliation is inevitable and burdensome.

“HURIWA wishes to remind the President just as was circulated by a reputable media company that his (Tinubu’s) inauguration is the culmination of a life-long ambition to rule Nigeria but he faces huge challenges. He should be reminded that he won the elections with just 37 percent of the votes – the lowest of any elected Nigerian president since the handover from military to democratic rule in 1999.”

“Nigeria’s longstanding ethnic and religious divisions became even more polarized during February’s polls amid violence and as critics and election observers raised concerns about irregularities and alleged attempts to disenfranchise voters.

A legal challenge to the result, launched by his political rivals is ongoing with only the first round of the litigation concluded but not without more controversies and divisions trailing the judgments of the Presidential election petition Tribunal. But Tinubu had said he would unite the nation and implored those who did not support him to rally behind his agenda just as he told the nation during his inauguration  as follows: “Those who didn’t support me, I ask that you not allow the disappointment of this moment to keep you from realizing the historic national progress we can make by working together.”

HURIWA observed that it is absurd and incredible that the President  and other top political office holders continue to globetrotting even as over 600 people have been killed within Tinubu’s few weeks in power. Based on findings, the killings have been linked to Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, ethnic militias, armed robbers, kidnappers and other non-state actors.

Data from SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence, an African-focused research company revealed that about 629 Nigerians were killed in 45 days of Tinubu’s administration. Likewise, data from the Council on Foreign Relations’ Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) and media reports indicated that non-state actors killed 587 people within the same period.

A breakdown of the data from SBM intelligence revealed that 38 people were killed between May 29th 2023 and May 31st 2023, 541 in June and 50 as of July 13th. In the North Central, 261 persons were killed, 162 in the North East, 134 in the North West, 23 people in the South East, 28 in the South West and 21 people in the South-South.

A further breakdown of the data per state indicates that Plateau has the highest number of mortality with 111, followed by Borno with 96 casualties, Niger, 76 casualties, Benue- 69, Zamfara- 67, Taraba- 60 and Sokoto- 51. Others with low numbers of casualties are Lagos- 13, Kaduna- 11, Rivers and Anambra- 9, Ogun- 8, Ebony- 7 and Imo and Delta- 6. Osun, Kano and Jigawa recorded zero losses within this period. In total, 629 casualties were documented from actions of non-state actors from May 29 to July 13.

Data from NST/Media reports showed that 39 persons were killed from May 29 to May 31, 444 in June, and 104 as of July 13, totaling 587 deaths recorded. Plateau had the highest number of casualties with 145 deaths, Benue – 68 Zamfara – 57, Sokoto – 55; Imo- 53; Niger and Borno – 51; and Taraba- 50.

According to a recent report by an international human rights and governance capacity-building non-governmental organisation, Global Rights (Nigeria), at least 555 people had been killed and 267 others abducted, six weeks after President Tinubu assumed office.

The Country Manager of Global Rights Nigeria, Edosa Oviawe, while presenting a paper on realities of mass atrocities at a two-day ‘Conflict Sensitive Reporting Training for Journalists’ programme in Abuja, said the findings were based on reports from the media, civil society groups and security agencies.

In a report published on June 14, Amnesty International (AI) said gunmen attacks claimed the lives of at least 123 people within a few days after Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29th. The high point of these attacks came a few weeks ago when bandits ambushed a military detachment in Niger state, killing 28 soldiers and four officers, and shooting down an helicopter dispatched to rescue and evacuate the wounded, bringing total fatality to 36 soldiers.

“It is horrific. Gunmen attacks have claimed at least 123 lives mere weeks after President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29. Rural communities, always bracing for the next bout of violence, faced deadly attacks by rampaging killers. Protecting lives should be the utmost priority of the new government. The Nigerian authorities must urgently take steps to stop the bloodletting.

The brazen failure of the authorities to protect the people of Nigeria is gradually becoming the norm in the country. The government said it will enact security measures in response to these attacks, but these promises have not translated into meaningful action that protects the lives of vulnerable communities. The Nigerian authorities have also consistently failed to carry out independent, effective, impartial and thorough investigations into these killings — and this is fuelling impunity,” the report stated.

HURIWA therefore proposes an immediate self imposed ban on globetrotting by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and for his administration to give the Service Chiefs and the NSA a short deadline of three months to combat and pragmatically defeat terrorists and armed bandits terrorising Nigerians, or be dismissed and replaced by Nigerians with best ideas to solve the security challenges that are growing in leaps and bounds.