The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend all foreign trips scheduled for 2026, following deadly attacks by Islamist terrorists that claimed nearly 200 lives in parts of Kwara State and other areas of central and northern Nigeria.
The rights group said the scale of the killings underscores what it described as a grave failure of governance and demanded that the President devote his full attention to leading a sustained and decisive counterterrorism campaign.
The attacks, which occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in remote communities, were confirmed by residents, security sources, and a Kwara State lawmaker. In the worst-hit area, the Woro community in central Kwara, gunmen reportedly killed at least 170 people in what officials described as the deadliest assault in the district this year.
Speaking by phone, the lawmaker representing the area, Saidu Baba Ahmed, said the attackers stormed the village, forcing residents to flee into nearby bushland. Homes and shops were set ablaze, while several villagers were still missing as of Wednesday morning.
“As I speak with you, I am in the village alongside military personnel, sorting bodies and combing the surrounding areas,” Ahmed said.
Residents told reporters that the assailants demanded the community renounce allegiance to the Nigerian state and submit to Sharia law. When the villagers resisted, the militants opened fire.
Reacting to the killings, HURIWA accused the Federal Government of being distracted by early political maneuvering ahead of the 2027 general elections. The group specifically blamed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for prioritising the President’s re-election bid over addressing Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
HURIWA alleged that political office holders from opposition parties are being pressured to defect to the APC under the threat of prosecution by anti-graft agencies, while premature campaigns for the 2027 elections are already underway in violation of electoral laws.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the group expressed outrage that President Tinubu reportedly spent 22 days outside Nigeria in January 2026 alone, arguing that his frequent foreign travels have yielded little tangible economic benefit for ordinary Nigerians amid escalating insecurity.
“The primary constitutional duty of government is the protection of lives and property,” HURIWA said, adding that the continued mass killings point to a fundamental breakdown of leadership and security coordination.
The group also criticised the Kwara State Government, stating that any governor unable to effectively collaborate with security agencies to protect citizens “should throw in the towel.”
HURIWA further called for immediate administrative sanctions against security chiefs in Kwara State, accusing them of serious intelligence and operational failures that allowed the attacks to occur unchecked. It proposed that all heads of security agencies appointed by President Tinubu be made to sign performance-based contracts, with clear benchmarks and timelines, or risk dismissal.
According to HURIWA, the absence of accountability—even after the killing of nearly 200 citizens—raises serious concerns about the government’s commitment to ending terrorism in Nigeria.
HURIWA Urges Tinubu To Suspend Foreign Trips In 2026 Over Terrorists Attacks
