Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Friday asked foreign embassies in Nigeria to discountenance allegations of human rights violations made against the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai by a group known as the Eastern Rights and Intelligentsia Coalition.

HURIWA informed the foreign embassies in Nigeria that General Buratai as well as other immediate past Service Chiefs recently named as envoys by President Muhammadu Buhari, are reputable Nigerian statesmen with unblemished records of professional services rendered to Nigeria and have no case in any local or international judicial fora.

The letters to the 31 foreign embassies in Nigeria by HURIWA and AFRIRIGHTS were sent against the backdrop of earlier letters to same embassies by the Eastern Rights and intelligentsia coalition in which they reportedly canvassed the prosecution of the former Service Chiefs at the international criminal court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands for crimes against humanity and human rights breaches.

A statement jointly signed by the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss. Zainab Yusuf, stated that rather than recrimination and casting undue aspersions in a bid to ridicule the public standing and assassinate the character of Buratai and other former military chiefs, they deserve accolades and National awards for their undiluted services to Nigeria.

The names of the petitioned 31 key foreign missions are the Head of Delegation of EU and the Ambassadors of Netherlands, Finland, Poland, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Sweden.

Others are the High Commissioners of the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada and the Ambassadors of the United States, Israel, Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria.

Commissioner of Police, Lagos Police Command, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has said that the command would resist any gathering that would threaten the peace and lives of Lagosians.

His assertion came on the heels of the planned second wave protest tagged ‘OccupyLekkiTollGate’ at the Lekki Toll Gate, Saturday, by the Endsars agitators.

He said that the command would not tolerate a repeat of such protests in the state, noting that the country was still smarting from the impact of the last #Endsars protests.

Premised on the available intelligence and due threat analyses carried out on the planned protest, the command, according to him, perceived the proposed protest as a calculated attempt to cause pandemonium and massive destruction of lives and properties.

He said, such will not be allowed in Lagos. The Lagos State, its people and the Nigerian nation at large are still groaning in pains from the aftermath of the last Endsars violence that left many lives and properties lost. It is therefore not reasonable to allow same to repeat itself in the state’’

He also cited the Covid-19 pandemic as another reason why the planned protest would not be allowed to hold, recalling that “ four days ago, the Federal Government Task Force on Covid-19 declared that the country now has 13 variants of Covid-19 virus which makes it more deadly.

Rinu Oduala, a youth representative on the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing alleged killing of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate last October has stepped down from the panel.

She made the disclosure on Friday in a piece, ‘Let’s stay the course of justice, partial wins are not enough’.

The activist, who faulted the planned reopening of the Lekki toll gate, maintained that justice has not been served to victims of the Lekki shootings of October 20, 2020.

Correspondents had reported that the panel, last Saturday, decided to hand over the tollgate back to its operators, Lekki Concession Company, after forensic experts submitted their report on the October 20, 2020 incident.

Four members of the panel including Oduala faulted the decision of the panel but the chairman of the panel, retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, and four other members of the panel acceded to LCC’s request to repossess the toll gate.

Barely 24 hours after suspected Fulani herdsmen gruesomely killed five persons in Owode Ketu, youths under the auspices of Yewa North Patriotic Forum has issued a seven-day ultimatum to killer herdsmen roaming or domiciled within Yewa North to quit the area.

The group gave the ultimatum in a press statement tagged, ‘YNPF to killer Fulani herdsmen: We can’t condone you beyond Seven days‘ and made available to DAILY POST on Friday, in Abeokuta.

According to the statement signed by the President of the group, Sani Omobolaji, residents of Yewa North have been living in fear and pains of recurrent killings which can only be traced to herders but have refused to fight back, hoping that solutions will be offered after complaints to the government.

The statement reads in part, “As responsible young people in Yewa North, We have tried to ensure that our coexistence works even when we are the legitimate owners of Yewa land, but Thursday’s gruesome killing of five of our people has shown that killer Fulani herdsmen can only live in their own world.

The Committee of Youths on Mobilisation and Sensitisation (CYMS) has urged Nigerian youths to boycott the proposed protest in the interest of peace and socioeconomic stability that were affected after the 2020 “ENDSARS PROTEST”.

The Lagos State coordinator, CYMS, Leonard Obasi, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

To counter the proposed Feb. 13 protest #OccupyLekkiTollGate at the tollgate plaza, some youths had announced a #DefendLagos rally to hold at the same venue.

The plan to #OccupyLekkiTollGate came barely a day after the controversial ruling of the Lagos Judicial panel of inquiry to reopen the Lekki Tollgate.

Obasi said that this has become compelling owing to reports of a planned protest by what he described as some self-centered elements who were hell bent on destabilising the peace of the country.

No fewer than two persons reportedly lost their lives when some suspected herdsmen attacked the Sanusi Village in the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on Thursday and those who lost their lives were a farmer and a member of a vigilante group.

The operational motorcycles and vehicle of the Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Amotekun Corps were also reportedly set ablaze by the bandits.

correspondnts report that the attack occurred when the Amotekun men and other security agents were carrying out the order of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to flush out the herdsmen who are illegally occupying the forest reserves in the state.

The Public Relations Officer of the Amotekun Corps, Mr Adebayo Ayeni, confirmed the incident in a statement.