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HURIWA Urges Soludo to Focus on Protecting, Not Eliminating Citizens
A civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the reported massacre of Onitsha traders by armed state militia.
The group also emphatically told Anambra State Governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, that the primary constitutional duty of government is to protect lives and the property of citizens and not to set armed contraptions with armed brutes to kill citizens.
In a statement, the HURIWA argued that “there is no amount of disagreement or peaceful protests by traders against the activities of armed task forces that could permit the deployment of lethal weapons to kill off civilians who are totally unarmed. This incident is one too many and the Anambra State Government is becoming notorious for failing to deal decisively with armed brutes who turned their weapons against the people of Anambra State. For a government to tolerate these incessant attacks on the citizens is to say that the administration has failed woefully. Those who kill in the name of a state government must face the full weight of the law.”
The HURIWA noted that armed operatives of the Anambra State government-backed Ocha Brigade allegedly opened fire at the Onitsha Main Market, Emeka Offor Plaza axis, leaving several people dead and others injured.
The victims were identified as Ebuka Orakwe, Orum Oluebube, Anthony Kosisochukwu, Ifeoma Ezema, Chinwe Igwe, 22, and two others whose names could not be ascertained at press time.
It cited eyewitnesses as claiming that a pregnant woman was among the dead.
The Anambra State Police Command, which confirmed the incident, however, stated that one female victim died on arrival at the hospital, while seven persons sustained gunshot injuries.
It added that the victims had been evacuated to the hospital and normalcy restored in the market.
The HURIWA quoted eyewitnesses who spoke with some sections of the media as claiming that the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, sparking panic and outrage among traders and residents who fled the scene for safety. According to accounts, the victims, who had only set out to earn their daily bread, were shot by armed men reportedly working for the Ocha Brigade.
It added that the reasons for the shooting could not be immediately ascertained.
A trader said, “This is heartbreaking. Four innocent people who left their homes this morning have been cut down in cold blood. Among them is a pregnant woman. Anambra people are now living in fear because criminals have been handed guns and uniforms in the name of government enforcement.”
The Police Command, in a statement by its spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, said police officers moved in to restore order after receiving a distress call.
He explained that an altercation had ensued between personnel of the Ocha Brigade, an Anambra State Environmental Law Enforcement outfit, and some traders, during which seven traders sustained gunshot injuries.
Ikenga added that the incident triggered unrest within the market but assured that normalcy had since been restored, with patrols and monitoring ongoing to sustain peace.
The HURIWA condemned the arming of task forces with lethal weapons and charged the Governor to withdraw these weapons and to only permit these state agents to carry water canons or in a worst-case scenario to bear guns with rubber bullets, which must be applied in such ways that lives are not jeopardised.
In a media release endorsed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA accused the Anambra State Government of carrying out serial extrajudicial killings of citizens and for failures to apprehend those behind the spate of violent attacks by armed task forces set up by the Anambra State administration.
The HURIWA quoted Section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as providing that: “Every person has a right to life, and no one SHALL be deprived intentionally of his/her life, save in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of alleged criminal offence of which he/she has been found guilty in Nigeria.”
The HURIWA therefore called for the arrest and prosecution for murders of the task force agents responsible for the state sponsored extra legal killings of citizens. Anambra State must never be turned into a killing field of citizens by agents of the state administration.
Affirming that the situation in Anambra State has become deeply disturbing, the Rights group wondered whether the Anambra State Governor and his officials are unaware of the primary duty of government which the Grund Norm of the country specifically directs as follows in Section 14(2) (B): “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”.
Just as Section 14(2) (A) provided that: ” Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this constitution derives all its powers and authority”. How will a government with a legitimate mandate of the citizens to exercise authority lawfully is incessantly involved in carrying out state-sponsored execution of the citizens?
The HURIWA lamented that since the inception of the administration of Mr. Soludo, hundreds of citizens have been slaughtered by different armed militia groups set up by the Anambra State Government as task forces just as the civil society organization has called on the organised civil rights advocacy groups with operational offices in Anambra State to compile records of all these killings and to file petitions to the International Criminal Court in The Hague Netherlands so both the government officials including the head of the state government and the armed goons set up in the state are charged for crimes against humanity since it is now clear that the Anambra State Government is not disposed to holding State sponsored killers of citizens to account.
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The Rights group condemned the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria for sleeping on duty, whereas citizens are brutally murdered by state government agents in Anambra State since the past 4 years.
The HURIWA also asked the citizens of Anambra State to take it as a legal obligation to defend their right to life and to denounce the many bloody attacks orchestrated by armed task forces targeting ordinarily law-abiding citizens, even as the HURIWA said there was no legal justification for the massacre of traders that happened in Onitsha.
“This is the time to prosecute state-sponsored mass murderers in Anambra State or the civil society organizations in Anambra State should scientifically generate actionable evidence to institute petitions in the ICC in The Hague Netherlands. These crimes against humanity by agents of Anambra State must be brought to a logical end, the HURIWA conclusively asserted.
Social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has released what he described as his first piece of evidence after the Nigeria Police Force challenged him to substantiate his allegations that some police officers allegedly collaborate with kidnappers.
VDM released a video on his Instagram handle on Thursday, August 27, 2026, shortly after the police invited him to provide evidence supporting the claims he made at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt.
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The activist captioned the video: “My evidence number 1.”
Recalled that VDM, who was a panellist at the NBA conference on Tuesday, had alleged that some police officers manning checkpoints along major highways provide kidnappers and bandits with information about travellers.
According to him, the officers allegedly relay details about the identities and movements of travellers to criminal groups, thereby facilitating abductions for ransom.
The allegation triggered a response from the Nigeria Police Force, which denied the claim and challenged VDM to substantiate his allegations.
The police invitation came as the force sought evidence to support the serious claims made by the social media critic.
In response, VDM released the video, describing it as his “evidence number 1”, signalling that he may provide further material to support his allegations.
The development has continued to attract attention, with the controversy placing renewed focus on allegations of possible collaboration between security personnel and criminal groups involved in kidnapping and banditry.
A former Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Goke Adeboroye, has questioned how an alleged fake presidential agency was able to gain access to government facilities, budgetary provisions and office space without being detected.
Adeboroye spoke on Channels Television’s Inside Sources following the discovery of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
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The ICPC had said the purported agency had no legal basis and operated with forged appointment letters and other official documents.
The commission also said its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Matthew, was never appointed by the Federal Government.
The anti-corruption agency further disclosed that its investigation into the PFIPC led to the discovery of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which it alleged was operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation without proper authorisation.
Reacting to the development, Adeboroye described the situation as a major failure of the government’s bureaucratic system.
“The exposure of that fake presidential agency is a major lapse to say that somebody can actually come into the system, get in on the budget, get offices, and all of that,” he said.
The former permanent secretary identified weaknesses in the bureaucratic structures supporting key offices in the Presidency, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service.
According to him, the bureaucracy in these offices should be strong enough to support the President’s policies while also ensuring that fraudulent or unlawful directives do not gain effect.
“The bureaucracy in those offices are not strong enough to be able to help the President drive the vision at the speed and with the efficiency that he wants,” Adeboroye said.
He also stressed the importance of having professional and experienced civil servants who can scrutinise directives issued by political office holders.
Adeboroye said civil servants should be able to recognise suspicious communications purportedly coming from the Presidency because they are familiar with the official channels through which presidential approvals are transmitted.
“Whether the person brings fake or whatever, you as the civil servant should be trained to be able to detect what should be a genuine communication from the State House. You work in that system,” he said.
He explained that presidential approvals usually pass through established channels involving senior government officials.
“When the President approves anything, he always minutes to about three people. He goes to the Chief of Staff, he goes to SGF, and if he has something to do with civil service, the Head of Service will have it.”
Adeboroye recalled an incident from his time as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior involving a former governor who claimed to have presidential approval for a diplomatic passport.
He said the then Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Ude, cross-checked the purported approval before taking action and subsequently sought clarification on whether the former governor, who was no longer in office, should receive the diplomatic passport.
“That’s somebody using the experience of the system to ensure that you are not outplayed,” he said.
The former permanent secretary said similar verification could have been carried out in the alleged fake agency case through a simple phone call to the relevant government offices.
“So we would have expected that on a simple phone call, when I was working in the office of Ekaite, Secretary of Government, I could pick a phone, call any minister, call this, it’s just a phone call from the office of whoever to say, Chief of Staff, is this true? And that would have actually corrected it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office has continued.
The chairman of the project office, Musa Aliyu, had alleged that the office was allocated space within the OSGF premises without presidential authorisation.
However, the National Coordinator and Executive Director of the project office, George Nwabueze, denied the allegation, insisting that the office is a project office under the OSGF and has existed for 16 years.
Nwabueze also produced an appointment letter purportedly issued by the OSGF, conveying approval of his appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the Made in Nigeria Project Office.
The conflicting claims have continued to raise questions about the authorisation and status of the project office and the alleged involvement of public officials in its operations.
The Labour Party has commended former President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in the 2015 presidential election, saying his decision demonstrated that political power was not worth the blood of Nigerians.
The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, made the statement on Tuesday in Bauchi State while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue.
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The event, organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, was themed, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”
Usman said Nigeria’s democracy survived the tensions surrounding the 2015 election because Jonathan chose to put the national interest above his desire to remain in office.
She said, “Nigeria’s democracy survived the doomsday predictions of bookmakers in 2015 because of President Jonathan’s concession of defeat in that year’s election, even before the final votes were tallied.”
According to her, Jonathan’s approach to politics was exceptional, particularly because he had consistently maintained that neither his election nor remaining in power was worth the blood of any Nigerian.
Usman stated, “Such a principled approach to politics had never before been witnessed on the Nigerian political horizon. Jonathan, from the inception of his presidency, consistently maintained that neither his election nor remaining in power was worth the blood of any Nigerian.”
She added that Jonathan demonstrated the sincerity of his position when the 2015 election tested his commitment to the principle.
The Labour Party chairman urged politicians preparing for the 2027 general elections to emulate Jonathan’s non-violent approach to politics, respect democratic rules and place national interest above personal ambitions.
She also questioned whether politicians seeking the presidency in 2027 would be prepared to make similar sacrifices for national unity, particularly amid inflammatory rhetoric from some political camps.
Usman further recalled the saying attributed to Warren Buffett that someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
She argued that Nigerians are able to practise democracy today partly because Jonathan made sacrifices at a critical moment.
On the Labour Party’s preparations for the 2027 elections, Usman described the party as the most structured opposition political party in Nigeria.
She said the Labour Party’s relationship with the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress had strengthened its political structure nationwide.
Usman claimed that the party remained the only opposition party with a realistic presence across Nigeria’s 186,000 polling units.
She said, “With the combined strength of the NLC and the TUC, both of which are constitutional members of the party, no Nigerian political party is better positioned to show the APC government the exit door than the Labour Party.”
The democracy dialogue attracted several political leaders and dignitaries, including former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Others included former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, APC Deputy National Chairman, South, Dr Ben Nwoye, and the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu.
The dialogue provided a platform for discussions on strengthening democratic institutions, the role of political parties and the judiciary, and preventing democratic reversals across Africa.
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