President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met with a
representation of the Northern State Governors Forum at the Aso Rock
Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting was attended by the chairman of
the forum, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal,
Sokoto State and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano State).
The closed-door
meeting was held before President Buhari departed for New York for the 72nd
Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The governors were said to have
briefed the President on the security situations in their states in view of the
rising tension in the north over the alleged killings of some northerners in
parts of the south east. Shettima in a statement last week on behalf of the
governors of the 19 northern states called on residents across the region
to maintain the peace.
They had said
they were aware of spill over concerns in Jos, Plateau State Capital and of the
rapid step taken by Governor Simon Lalong who immediately declared a
dusk-to-dawn curfew in the state. The governors had also assured that their
administrations had placed security forces on alert with a view to tackling any
unforeseen attempt to cause a breach of security. The military on Friday
declared IPOB a terrorist organization.The Southeast governors also
proscribed the activities of IPOB in order to stop the tension in the
zone.
After the meeting
with the three northern governors yesterday, Buhari left for New York to join
other world leaders at the UN General Assembly to participate in the general
debate with the theme “Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life
for All on a Sustainable Planet.” Presidential
spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, had stated Friday that Buhari would deliver the
country’s national statement during the debate and join other world leaders at
the welcoming reception to be hosted by the UN Secretary General, Antonio
Guterres, and also hold a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe. President
Buhari would also hold a lunch meeting with President Donald Trump of the
United States of America, along with other world leaders.
The president was
accompanied by the governors of Zamfara, Ebonyi and Ondo States as well as key
cabinet ministers. The presidential spokesman had also stated that President
Buhari would transit through London on his way back to Nigeria. Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB) is being sponsored by certain disgruntled elements to sabotage
the Buhari Administration. He said they are doing this under the guise of
fighting for the rights of the people of the South-east. The minister stated
this at a press conference in Lagos, a statement by his office said. Alhaji
Mohammed said IPOB was set up as a tool to destabilize the nation and divert
attention from the efforts of the Buhari Administration.
He said the group
is being sponsored by “the Coalition of the Politically Disgruntled and the
Treasury Looters. “They believe that by sponsoring this group to destabilize
the country and trigger chaos, they will realize their ambition of escaping
justice and then be freeto dip their hands into the nation’s treasury again.” Alhaji
Mohammed, who wondered why the activities of IPOB became heightened with the
advent of this Administration, said: ‘’If this is coincidental, then that
coincidence is uncanny, at the least. Remember that Nnamdi Kanu, who led a
protest at the Nigeria House in London against Boko Haram insurgency and in
support of Nigeria’s unity, under the Jonathan Administration, has suddenly
metamorphosed into an IPOB monster who will rather set the nation ablaze.’’ The
Minister also said IPOB thrived on exploiting the nation’s fault lines and that
its modus operandi ‘’is to trigger conflagration nationwide through attacks and
reprisals’’.
Alhaji Mohammed
accused IPOB of harvesting gory videos from the distant past and from other
lands to deceive the international community that the people of the South-east
are victims of state-sponsored ethno-sectarian violence, describing such
tactics as ‘’lies and propaganda’’. He
therefore appealed to the media to show greater restraint and avoid
sensationalism in their reporting of the military exercise, Operation Python
Dance II, in the South-east. ‘‘The divisive and jaundiced opinions of some
anarchists have been given a big play by a section of the media. This is wrong.
Let me remind all of us of the role of the media, especially the radio, in the
1994 genocide in Rwanda that left about 800,000 people dead,’’ he said. Also
Mohammed noted that the Nigerian media cannot afford to engage in irresponsible
journalism when the issue at stake is the very survival of the nation.
He also commended
the Nigerian military for labelling IPOB a terrorist organization and
checkmating the group, and the South-east Governors for proscribing the
organization. Police outlaw Biafra symbols. The police in Abia State have
banned citizens from carrying any symbols of Biafra or risk arrest and
prosecution under the anti-terrorism Act. State Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Anthony Ogbizi, issued the warning yesterday while parading seven suspected
members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. He said with the proscription
of the group by the South East governors, it has become illegal for anyone to
operate under IPOB or adorn Biafra emblems.
Ogbizi, echoing
what the army had earlier said, stressed that IPOB by their action had shown
themselves to be a “terrorist group” which must be dealt with as such. He said
that between Sept. 10 and Sept 14 the Ariaria police station was attacked by
suspected members of IPOB who destroyed everything at the station. He said they
came with petrol bombs which they used to gain entrance, destroy
properties and took three pump action guns. “Even some policemen were
seriously injured. In fact as I am talking to you, one of the injured police
officer is dead. Doctors tried in vain to save his life. Ogbizi said they also
destroyed property of lawful citizens too adding that their demonstration was
not peaceful. He also alleged that the group attacked a nearby bank to get
money to acquire more weapons.
The police boss said
about 30 IPOB members were arrested when they attacked soldiers at Isiala
Ngwa and about 29 were arrested in Umuahia. He said that suspected IPOB members
also attacked military officers and the residences of Commissioner of Police
and AIG Zone 9 in Umuahia. Ogbizi said that the army recovered several exhibits
including the coat of arms of Biafra from the suspects. “As I am talking to you
now information reaching me said they have started gathering at Nnamdi Kanu’s
house”, he said. Ogbizi called on the people to volunteer information on the
whereabouts of the Leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
SUN
No comments:
Post a Comment