Rights group backs Buratai’s claim that embittered politicians are sponsors of bandits

The claim by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, that embittered politicians are behind the rising spate of attacks by bandits and kidnappers in the country has been supported by the Coalition of Human Rights Group.

Speaking on the matter, Maxwel Gowon (Esq), Executive Director of the group warned those behind the recent cases of banditry, kidnapping and killings to desist from these evil acts.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the group also appealed to embittered politicians to express their grievances through the proper channels instead of resorting to bloodshed.

The rights group said; “Permit us to say that we are not in any way surprised by the revelations made by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai while speaking before a committee of the House of Representatives this week. In summary, General Buratai asserted that politicians are behind the new wave of attacks against Nigerians by Boko Haram terrorists, bandits and other killer groups.”

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The group added that; “The Coalition of Human Rights Groups in Nigeria wants to categorically state that what General Buratai has disclosed is not really new. Political support for Boko Haram is something that our coalition expressed concerns about shortly before the elections.

“On the heels of what the Chief of Army Staff has said, we are drawing the attention of Nigerians to five critical points:

“The attacks by Boko Haram, bandits and other criminal elements are centered on areas where the opposition had predicted they would win but were roundly defeated, which could mean that Nigerians in these affected places are being punished by the opposition for voting their choice.

“Captured terrorists, victims and security agencies have repeatedly identified political players as drivers of the acts of terrorism that have been recorded.

“The opposition had never hidden their glee each time there was an attack anywhere. They are quick to exploit the attacks for launching verbal and media attack on the government. This insecurity is what they are now leveraging on to plot a coup against the government as have been exposed by the Nigerian Army.

“We are calling on the politicians that lost elections to have a rethink and immediately desist from sponsoring killings and supporting Boko Haram or any terror group to unleash deaths on Nigerians. There are legal proceedings to expressing dissatisfaction with election outcomes without resorting to bloodletting, the group stated.

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