The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for an immediate probe and sweeping disciplinary action following reports that nine military officers allegedly linked to Boko Haram terrorists escaped from a military guardroom in Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, Borno State.
In a statement issued Tuesday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the rights group described the reported jailbreak as “a national security disaster” that exposes deep-seated sabotage within the military.
“If this report is true, there is more to it than meets the eye,” HURIWA stated. “It suggests a high-level conspiracy from within the command structure. These collaborators and saboteurs of the war on terror must be identified, arrested, prosecuted for treason, and jailed for life.”
The association urged the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, to treat the matter as a national priority, suspend all officers responsible for the detainees’ custody, and launch a full-scale investigation.
HURIWA said the alleged escape, reportedly involving officers linked to arms trafficking, validates earlier warnings by Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, about saboteurs within the military undermining the fight against insurgency.
The group expressed shock that such a development could occur just days after President Bola Tinubu’s security sector shake-up, warning that internal betrayal could derail ongoing counterterrorism operations.
“When we call for heads to roll, we mean it literally,” Onwubiko said. “The Army must weed out the bad eggs that are undermining national security. Nigeria cannot win the war on terror while saboteurs within are collaborating with the enemy.”
HURIWA also called for a comprehensive audit of all detention facilities holding terror suspects and an overhaul of military intelligence operations to restore public confidence in the nation’s counterterrorism efforts.