***Warns Of National Breakup
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has launched a fierce attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what it described as attempts to legitimise ethnic militias through the proposed approval of a security outfit linked to Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo.
In a strongly worded statement issued by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko on Tuesday, the rights group warned that recognising or licensing Igboho’s proposed Iru Ekun Security Network could push Nigeria toward dangerous ethnic militarisation and eventual national disintegration.
HURIWA said the Federal Government must never create the impression that private armies and ethnic militias can operate alongside constitutionally recognised security institutions, warning that such a move would undermine national unity and weaken the authority of the Nigerian state.
The group insisted that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity — including terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and separatist violence — should not be used as justification for empowering ethnic-based armed structures.
According to HURIWA, the defence of Nigeria’s territorial integrity must remain solely in the hands of the Armed Forces and other lawful security agencies.
The organisation argued that the Nigerian military, if properly funded, equipped and professionally managed, possesses the capacity to defeat insurgents and criminal networks across the country without resorting to what it called “ethnic armies.”
“What Nigeria urgently needs is competent security leadership, modern military equipment, intelligence-driven operations and an end to procurement corruption — not the dangerous proliferation of militias loyal to ethnic champions,” the group stated.
HURIWA further accused the Federal Government of applying double standards in the handling of separatist-linked groups across the country.
The rights body argued that it would be discriminatory and politically provocative for the government to crack down on groups such as IPOB while allegedly considering operational approval for a security structure associated with Yoruba self-determination agitation.
It warned that such selective treatment could deepen ethnic suspicion, embolden separatist tendencies and trigger retaliatory movements in other parts of the federation.
The group cautioned President Tinubu against presiding over what it described as the gradual ethnic militarisation of Nigeria, warning that history would not forgive any administration that weakens the country’s constitutional security framework by empowering non-state actors with separatist leanings.
HURIWA also called for the immediate dismantling of all private militias and armed groups operating across the country, including those allegedly linked to former militant leaders and politically exposed individuals.
The statement comes amid growing public debate following comments by Sunday Adeyemo that he was awaiting Federal Government approval to officially launch the Iru Ekun Security Network aimed at combating criminal activities in forests across the South-West.
Igboho had maintained that all necessary documents and procedural requirements had already been submitted to the authorities, while also expressing readiness to comply with regulations introduced by the Oyo State Government for private security operations.
Meanwhile, HURIWA linked the controversy to the broader security crisis facing the country, citing the recent attack on communities in Kwara State where armed bandits reportedly invaded Yashikira community, burnt parts of the emir’s palace and abducted several residents.
The organisation urged President Tinubu to immediately overhaul the nation’s security leadership by removing what it described as underperforming service chiefs and replacing them with competent and patriotic professionals capable of prosecuting an effective counterterrorism strategy.
The group maintained that Nigeria’s unity remains too delicate to be endangered by political experimentation with ethnic militias and warned that any attempt to officially recognise separatist-linked armed groups could have severe consequences for national stability.