The Defence Headquarters has said it would not hesitate to take legal action against Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) if it continued to mislead the people over the crisis in Plateau State.
It lamented that the organisation had continued to spread falsehoods in order to create tension in the country, reports The Nation.
The military high command said this in a statement by the Director Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, yesterday.
The statement followed HURIWA’s faulting of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa’s approach to addressing the ongoing violence in Plateau State.
The group issued a statement on Sunday signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, where it expressed deep concern over the recent escalation of violence, particularly the Christmas Eve attacks on over 20 communities in the Barkin-Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos areas of Plateau State.
It criticised the CDS’ response, especially the deployment of a Special Fact-Finding Team led by retired Maj-Gen. Augustine Agundu to investigate the root causes of the attacks.
In response to the statement, the DHQ said HURIWA was “ill-informed and could not spend time researching on efforts the military had made to restore normalcy in troubled areas of the country.”
The DHQ chronicled efforts by the military to arrest the situation including numerous intelligence-driven operations that had been conducted which led to the arrest of key suspects who were currently undergoing interrogation.
“It is therefore pertinent to note that the team was constituted as part of the non-kinetic approach of the DHQ in resolving the situation. Also, the team’s responsibility spreads across troubled areas in the country and not limited to Plateau State alone.
“The DHQ calls on HURIWA being one of the respected human rights groups, to cultivate the habit of seeking credible information on issues especially as it concerns National Security before approaching the media.
“It is evident the group was ill-informed and could not spend time researching on efforts the military had made to restore normalcy in troubled areas of the country.
“The DHQ would have naturally overlooked the ignorance of HURIWA on this matter but finds it necessary to educate civil society organisations on the responsible use of the media not to disseminate falsehoods and create tension where none exists.
“We therefore advise HURIWA to henceforth be passionate to seek adequate information on issues of national importance and stop misleading the public deliberately.
“The DHQ would take strong legal action should such a mistake repeat itself,” it said.
