****says he deserves commendations for contributions to Nigeria’s security
A coalition of 43 community security groups from both southern and northern parts of Nigeria have chided the military for calling out on the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples’ Salvation Force, Alhaji Asari Dokubo over a recent video, saying he only expressed what is his fundamental human right, just like any other person would have done.
Purportedly a response to Dokubo’s video, on Thursday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), during a press conference, faulted his utterances and challenged him to come to the battlefield and witness the capabilities of the military.
But in a press statement signed by the North and South Chairmen of the Coalition, Musa Bashir and Barr. Joshua Tamuno, on Friday, the coalition noted that the military misconstrued Dokubo who was only expressing his fundamental human right.
According to the statement, “The Nigerian military ought to be busy fighting the multi-faceted security threats that Nigeria is battling instead of calling out an elder statesman and security expert, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, over a misconstrued statements in a viral video.
“Our team of experts have watched and listened to the video several times, and we are convinced that what Alhaji Asari Dokubo said in it does not deserve the sort of response given to it by the military.
“First, he and his kith and kin apparently faced a security threat as an unknown jet was hovering over their community, and as a community leader, he ought to talk, so as the government could uphold the community’s security right. Right to security is one of the fundamental human rights that every Nigerian has and it must be upheld by the security agencies in collaboration with community members.
“Secondly, he never mentioned Nigerian military, therefore, the military should not have made such a blanket interpretation.
However, the military ought not to have been blind to Alhaji Asari Dokubo’s various contributions towards entrenching security in Nigeria as a community leader and security expert of international repute. Even the leaders of the country can attest to his contributions. Therefore, he should rather be commended instead of being vilified.”
