ABUJA, Nigeria – The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening to mobilise nationwide protests if Asari Dokubo, a prominent former Niger Delta militant and Ijaw nation leader, is not arrested for unlawful possession of assault rifles and threats against the Igbo community in Nigeria.
In a statement released on Thursday, June 29, 2023, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, declared that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has 72 hours to incarcerate Asari Dokubo or face nationwide protests.
The civil rights advocacy group urged that the Department of State Services or any relevant security agency should arrest him for his suspected connection to the violent acts of ‘unknown gunmen’ in the South-East.
Earlier in June 2023, Asari Dokubo created a stir when he visited President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Villa in Abuja.
The ex-militant declared himself a participant in an ongoing conflict, stating, “I am a participant in this war.
I fight on the side of the government of the Nigerian state in Plateau, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Rivers. And in Abuja today, you are traveling to Kaduna on this road.
It is not the army that makes it possible for you to travel to Abuja or travel to Kaduna, and vice versa. It is my men, employed by the government of the Nigerian state, stationed in Niger.”
Furthermore, Asari Dokubo was seen in a viral video brandishing multiple AK-47 rifles and making threats against the Igbo people.
He claimed his animosity stemmed from the Igbos’ support for Labour Party’s Peter Obi in the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, instead of his preferred candidate, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
In the video, which has been verified as authentic by media houses, Asari Dokubo openly displayed AK-47 rifles and threatened violence against the Igbos.
He also publicly requested that President Tinubu not release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
Comrade Onwubiko stressed that the government must act to uphold the rule of law.
“The Nigerian Government must arrest Asari Dokubo now or the Federal Government is indirectly tasking Igbo youths, lovers of Igbo and all groups that support the well-being of the Igbo people to begin peaceful protests simultaneously,” he said.
“HURIWA is giving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 72 working hours to order the arrest and investigation of Asari Dokubo over his suspected link to the violent phenomenon of unknown gunmen in the South-East or HURIWA will call our her members for a protest in Abuja next week over it,” he added.
Onwubiko also emphasized that illegality must not continue under the watch of security agencies and demanded action against Asari Dokubo, stating, “Nigeria is not a Banana Republic.”
