Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has uttered disappointment at a statement attributed to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, that only God could police the Nigerian borders.
The non-governmental organisation and pro-democracy expressed such remark as the clear sign of gross incompetence and crass incapacity on the part of the service chiefs to enforce the minimum demands of their constitutional mandates.
HURIWA refused to accept that the statement represented the view of all the service chiefs, given that Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai the Chief of Army Staff COAS), had on many occasions assured Nigerians that the army under his command haunted the means to secure Nigerians.
“it was absolutely intolerable that a full-fledged military general, in whom Nigeria’s resources had been used to train for about 30 years, to transfer the mandate of practically safeguarding Nigeria to God, as if the country was a theocracy.” HURIWA said
Nigeria is and remains a federal republic guided by the provisions of the constitution, which made no mention of God as its chief border security officer, it added.
Besides, the rights group accused the service chief of running out of ideas on what to do to re-take the control of all the nation’s province from all sorts of armed bandits, all of whom have constituted the threats to the sovereignty of Nigeria and have put the national security on the bream.
It expressed utter concern that a professional soldier would play the diversionary religious card of bringing God into the dispute when for four years the federal government remained unfortunately bereft of functional, effective and result-oriented tactic for defending and sustained the country constitutional democracy.
The released statement added. “By the way, if the naval chief is deficient in elementary religious knowledge, may he be told that God is perfect and therefore wouldn’t be associated with the complete display of incapacity by the armed forces of Nigeria in securing the territorial integrity and jurisdiction of our nation state,”
