HURIWA asks defence ministers to quit Tinubu campaign council, focus on insecurity

August 25, 2026

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, and the Minister of State for Defence, Senator Bello Mohammed Matawalle, to withdraw immediately from the campaign council of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and concentrate on tackling the country’s worsening insecurity.

HURIWA said the continued participation of the two ministers in political campaign activities, amid increasing attacks, killings and abductions across the country, was inappropriate and could send the wrong signal about the government’s priorities.

In a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, yesterday, the group said the ministers should devote their attention to their constitutional responsibilities of supervising the nation’s defence and counterterrorism efforts.

“The primary responsibility of the Defence Ministry at this critical period is to strengthen the capacity of the military and other security agencies to protect Nigerians and defeat terrorism, banditry and other forms of violent crime,” HURIWA said.