The People’s Democratic Party Caucus in the House of Representatives says it welcomes the visit of the US Secretary of State, Anthony Bliken, to Nigeria.
The caucus, however, urged him to use the visit to engage the federal government on the rising insecurity and the human rights abuses in Nigeria.
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In a statement, on Wednesday by its leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP Rivers State), the caucus, said the visit, coming ahead of the 2023 general elections, was timely.
“It is our expectation that he would use his visit to address the growing human rights abuses, increasing threats to democracy, insecurity and corruption in Nigeria.”
The caucus said it recognised that the United States was a strategic partner to Nigeria.
“It is our fervent hope that Secretary Bliken will engage the government’s failure to address the increasing terrorist attacks in Nigeria.
“Just this week, a Brigadier-General was killed by ISWAP and this is in addition to the countless numbers of soldiers who have been killed or grievously injured with the weightless and worthless remark of getting to the root of the matter.
“Our country cannot afford the luxury of losing military officers to terrorists when it can seek strategic military and counter insurgency assistance from the United States that has for many years built strategic and sustained military and intelligence frameworks for fighting terrorism”.
The caucus said Bliken should, as a matter of urgency, hold the Nigerian Government to account for “the wanton assaults on rights, abuse of state power, systematic use of state violence to suppress peaceful protesters, particularly activists of the #EndSARS movement and campaigners for self-determination, extra-judicial killings, intimidation of the judiciary.”
It also asked him to declare to the federal government that abuses of human rights have consequences.
