Odita Sunday 
HURIWA Blasts Police Over Unresolved Assassination Attempt on Ugochinyere, Warns Against Politicising Security Operations
Odita Sunday
As concerns mount over unresolved politically linked attacks and worsening insecurity across the country, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has slammed the Nigeria Police Force and the Imo State Police Command over the failure to arrest or prosecute those allegedly behind the assassination attempt on Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere nearly three years after the incident.
The rights group described the development as a disturbing reflection of alleged institutional compromise, selective law enforcement and weakening public confidence in the nation’s security architecture.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on Tuesday, HURIWA accused the police of failing to bring justice in connection with the bloody attack that reportedly occurred at Ugochinyere’s residence in Akokwa, Imo State.
The association said it was unacceptable that armed men could allegedly invade the residence of a serving federal lawmaker in what was described as a coordinated assassination attempt, unleash violence on the community, kill a family member, destroy properties worth millions of naira and still evade prosecution years after the incident.
According to HURIWA, Hon. Ugochinyere had repeatedly alleged that the attack was politically motivated and allegedly orchestrated by forces uncomfortable with his outspoken political engagements and criticisms.
The group recalled claims by the lawmaker that heavily armed assailants stormed his family compound in Akokwa with the alleged mission of eliminating him, but failed after he escaped.
HURIWA further noted allegations that the attackers opened fire indiscriminately within the compound, creating panic before allegedly killing the lawmaker’s uncle during the operation.
The association also referenced claims that the attackers vandalised Ugochinyere’s personal vehicle and destroyed more than 30 vehicles within the compound in what it described as one of the most brazen politically linked attacks in recent years in Imo State.
The rights organisation expressed concern that despite the national outrage generated by the incident and the scale of destruction recorded, no meaningful prosecution has allegedly been secured by security agencies.
“It is both shocking and scandalous that nearly three years after armed attackers invaded the residence of a federal lawmaker, killed his uncle, destroyed over 30 vehicles, and attempted to assassinate him, Nigerians are yet to hear of a single meaningful prosecution,” HURIWA stated.
The group warned that the continued failure to conclusively investigate the attack could reinforce public perception that politically exposed crimes are deliberately ignored while perpetrators of violence operate without consequences.
HURIWA also cautioned the Inspector-General of Police and the Imo State Police Command against actions capable of portraying law enforcement agencies as partisan institutions.
The association stressed that the constitutional responsibility of the police remains the protection of lives and property, insisting that security institutions must not be seen as serving political interests while major criminal cases remain unresolved.
Linking the matter to the broader insecurity crisis in the country, HURIWA cited a recent report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which it said alleged that about 30,000 armed Fulani militants are currently operating across Nigeria.
According to the group, the report painted a troubling picture of increasing attacks, killings, kidnappings and displacement of communities, while also reinforcing public complaints about delayed security responses and weak justice delivery mechanisms.
HURIWA warned that unresolved politically sensitive attacks and the expansion of armed groups across the country could further erode public trust in state institutions and deepen national insecurity.
The association consequently demanded the immediate establishment of a special independent investigative panel with forensic and intelligence capabilities to reopen and comprehensively investigate the Akokwa attack.
It insisted that both the alleged perpetrators and sponsors of the assassination attempt must be identified and prosecuted without fear or favour.
HURIWA also called on civil society organisations, democratic institutions and international human rights bodies to closely monitor politically sensitive violence cases in Nigeria in order to ensure accountability and transparency.
The group maintained that democracy cannot thrive in an atmosphere where political opponents allegedly become targets of violence while justice remains elusive.
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