HURIWA Criticizes NSA Ribadu for Politicizing National Security Issues

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to avoid politicizing security matters, calling his recent statements on national security “inappropriate and misguided.”

HURIWA’s statement, signed by National Coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko, criticized Ribadu’s characterization of terrorists as mere “rivals” who “dare” President Bola Tinubu.

The rights group argued that such a portrayal trivializes the serious threat posed by armed non-state actors who continue to kill and terrorize Nigerians.

“It is a grave fallacy and distorted thinking for the presidential security aide to suggest that armed non-state actors, responsible for killing and maiming Nigerians, are simply ‘daring’ Tinubu,” HURIWA said.

The critique follows Ribadu’s remarks at the Comptroller-General of Customs conference in Abuja, where he vowed that the government would eliminate the new terror group, Lakurawas, for “daring the President.”

This statement came on the same day that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, deployed soldiers to Kebbi State’s troubled Augie Local Government Area, following a recent attack by Lakurawas militants that left at least 17 dead in Mera village.

HURIWA warned against personalizing the war on terror, suggesting that Ribadu’s approach reduces national security to a matter of personal affront to Tinubu.

The group emphasized that the threats posed by terrorist groups extend beyond any individual, endangering Nigeria’s unity and sovereignty.

“To be candid, we believe that as NSA to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, you know well that our security challenges are not personal issues directed at the President,” the statement read.

“Our security challenges threaten the very fabric of Nigeria’s existence, irrespective of who holds office.”

HURIWA concluded by advising Ribadu to adopt a more professional stance, emphasizing that the war on terror must transcend political rhetoric to preserve Nigeria’s sovereignty and stability.