By Onwelikwu Ndidi Joseph
- The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria accuses Audu Ogbeh and Lai Mohammed of lying to Nigerians
- The group says Mohammed told citizens that 100 jets had been deployed by the Nigerian Air Force to rescue the abducted Dapchi girls
- It also says Thailand debunked a claim by Ogbeh that Nigeria was killing its rice business
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) is reportedly asking President Muhammadu Buhari to sack two of his cabinet members, the agric and rural development as well as the information ministers, Audu Ogbeh and Lai Mohammed, respectively.
The rights group accused them of lying to Nigerians over the progress reports of the current government.
In a statement reported by Premium Times, and signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and its media affairs director, Zainab Yusuf, the group reportedly said it was angry over the alleged false claim of the agric minister recently that Thailand accused Nigeria of being responsible for the collapse of its seven rice mills following an alleged fall in rice importation from the country.
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HURIWA also accused the information minister of claiming on February 27, that 100 Nigerian Air Force aircrafts had been deployed in search of the missing Dapchi girls.
The report said the two claims were faulted by the Thailand ambassador to Nigeria and the Nigerian Air Force respectively.
The group said the ministers should be sacked for wilfully being economical with the truth in the discharge of their public functions thereby polluting the innocent minds of Nigerian children even as disseminating false information violates the criminal code Act of Nigeria.
The organisation said the spreading misinformation should be outrightly dismissed.
“We believe that Mr President must suspend the agriculture minister pending further timely investigation and to order his sack eventually if contrary opinions alleging that he lied are proven as truth.
“The Nigerian law book even has legal sanction for providing false information and since the law is not a respecter of status or a class, the minister(s) of agriculture and information must be made to face the consequences of wilful misinformation.
“The current president has claimed to be a man of honesty and so Nigerians are disappointed that his cabinet members have lied to Nigerians in not less than 10,000 times documented in media reports with the current controversy involving the agriculture and Information ministers being the most disgraceful acts of alleged betrayal of truth and public trust and amounts to criminal violation.
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“Section ‘125A subsection (1)’ of the criminal code, affirms that: Any individual who gives any information which he knows or believes to be false, to any person employed in the public service with the intention of causing such person to do or omit to do anything which such person ought not to do or ought not to omit to do if the true facts concerning the information given were known to such person; or (b) to exercise or use his lawful powers as a person employed in the public service to the injury or annoyance of any other person, is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for one year,” the group said.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership cried out over the state of the nation saying 10 global organisations have confirmed the country is deteriorating.
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