Ayoola Omole
The Nigerian Army 9th September announced that its field training exercise tagged Egwu Eke II" (Python Dance II) was set to commence in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States of the South East geopolitical zone in the country from 15th September to 14th October 2017. The Army disclosed, in a press statement signed by Major-General DD Ahmadu, Chief of Training and Operations, Nigerian Army, that it will place emphasis on raids, cordon and search operations, anti-kidnapping drills, roadblocks, checkpoints, and show of force, and humanitarian activities such as medical outreach.
Shortly after the troops arrived Abia State, troubles started between the Nigerian military officers and the Nnamdi Kanu-led IPOB, after the group resisted activities of military personnel, who in turn allegedly killed and arrested a number of the IPOB members. The Separatists who were reported to have razed a police station and killed a policeman were consequently labelled terrorists by the military command.
This thread furnishes real time summary of events in the South East and other parts of Nigeria, and the reactions of the Nigerian citizenry, statesmen, public affairs commentators, political analysts, security experts and government officials,as they happen:
• The reports I have received about recent developments in the country lead me to appeal to all men of good will to use whatever influence they have to push for peaceful coexistence and restraint on all sides.
Perhaps it is time for the Council of State to intervene and offer its wise counsel. Irrespective of whatever provocation, Nigerians must never turn on each other.
Even in the face of difficult circumstances, we must have faith that God in His infinite wisdom will guide us to finding a way out that is fair and just to all concerned.
In as much as there may be a need to enforce order, there is a greater need to reinforce our humanity and treat Nigerian citizens humanely whether they be from the North or South.
Nothing justifies the desecration and destruction of religious places of worship or a police station. But even more so, nothing justifies the endangering of human life. Let us exchange ideas instead of exchanging insults and threats.
Nigeria is going through tough times because God wants us to grow through tough times. We must be resolute as a people even as we know that it is impossible to deny the brotherhood of all Nigerians after over a century of a commonwealth.
-Ex-President,Goodluck Jonathan.
• The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has said that contrary to the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari to belong to everybody while being sworn in as the President in 2015, he has failed to demonstrate the statement in governance in the last two years.
Buhari, a former military general, had on May 29, 2015, while being inaugurated as civilian president after defeating Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party promised to carry all sections of the country along in his administration by saying “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”.
But rising from a meeting in Taraba State on Friday, the CBCN in a communiqué signed by its president, Ignatius Kaigama, said Buhari had failed to live up to those words two years after assuming office.
According to the organisation, the inability of the Federal Government under the former military Head of State to grievances among different sections of the country has led to rising tension in the land.
Speaking further, the bishops frowned at the deployment of military personnel in the Southeastern part of the country, describing it as capable of “igniting a fire that could turn into an uncontrollable conflagration”.
While calling on aggrieved citizens and groups to maintain law and order, the CBCN said that the government must live up to its responsibilities to the citizens in order for development to occur in the country.
The group, however, commended the Federal Government for the successes recorded in the fight against terrorism in the North-East and the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State.
• The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC) says it is not within the jurisdiction of the military to declare the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) a terrorist group.
Under the terrorism act 10 2011 passed by the Nigerian national assembly, only a high court judge on the advice of the national security adviser, the inspector general of police or the attorney-general of the federation can declare an organisation a terrorist group ad such has to be published in a Gazzzet making the proclamation of the governors and the Military to be illegal.”
The group urged the federal government to release IPOB members in detention or charge them to court.
“We have sent a petition to the United Nations, (UN) office in Geneva. We have already been invited in pursuant to the procedures and expectations of the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights. Nigeria and her component states should show respect to the dictates of universal standards,” it said.
• Nigerian lawyers expressed divergent views on the legality of the military’s declaration of separatist group, IPOB, as a terrorist organisation.
“I do not believe the instances cited by the Defence Headquarters to justify declaring IPOB a terrorist organization,” he said.
“The last time I checked, I can’t remember any of such organisation operating in the country being declared terrorist organisations.
“The herdsmen who go on rampage daily, maiming, raping, killing; those responsible for the Agatu massacre; Shiites massacre, Southern Kaduna pogrom, indiscriminate killings, brazen quit notices’ givers, across Nigeria, etc, have never been arrested, prosecuted, let alone been proscribed and stigmatised as terrorist organisations.
“We must surely have and operate two sets of laws for two sets of people in Nigeria. Nigeria, we hail thee. A government should be seen to be fair to all component parts of Nigeria.”
- Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
“I find it rather strange and curious that the army would declare a group a terrorist organisation. I said that because under the Section 2, subsection (C) of the terrorism prevention act 2011, it is the Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Security Adviser or Inspector-General of Police that can declare an organisation a proscribed or terrorist organisation.
“And it cannot just do so. The two arms of government have to be involved for an organisation to be proscribed. Also involved are the various arms of government mentioned, as well as the president himself who must give an approval. The executive arm of government will approach the court with an application to give an order. This is to allow for a dispassionate and rational assessment of the application to see whether it is warranted.
“The judge is not part of the executive, he is independent. We have not been told by the military or the Federal Government of Nigeria that an application has been made to the Federal High Court in Nigeria. That is why I said it is curious. If it is the military that has not done this, then it is unconstitutional and illegal. We are not in a military regime, no matter what the situation is, we have to follow the rule of law so if no order has been obtained to this effect. What has been done is unlawful,”
He added that the previous declaration by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai, that the Shiite IMN is a terrorist group, is also unconstitutional.
“Of course, it is an illegal declaration. Who gave the Kaduna State Governor the power to do that? The right to association, freedom of opinion, right to hold an opinion, freedom of conscience and the right to freedom of speech are guaranteed. These are entrenched rights in the constitution, so when you are taking these rights away you have to follow very thoroughly and to the minutest details, the dictates of the law.
The lawyer argued further that the declaration of IPOB as a terror group has a reverberating effect on likely innocent supporters of the group.
“It is a monstrous law; even the Ohaneze Indigbo, the South-east governors that would want to defend these groups cannot do that because the terrorism act is saying that you cannot associate with them: because if you do, you have become a co-conspirator.”
Mr. Ogunye noted that although the military has the right of way and the area reportedly overtaken by the IPOB members, where they attempted to prevent the army from passing, is not an IPOB territory, ‘‘the army themselves are not above the law.’’
- Mr. Jiti Ogunye, lawyer and activist.
According to the Section 2 (c) of the terrorism prevention act, in setting up or pursuing acts of terrorism, the judge in chambers may on an application made by the Attorney-General, National Security Adviser or Inspector-General of Police on the approval of the President; declare an entity to be a proscribed organisation and the notice should be published in official gazette.
Subsection (2) of the same act adds that: “An order made under sub-section (1) of this section shall be published in the official gazette, in two National newspapers and at such other places as the judge in Chambers may determine.’’
Subsection three adds that; “A publication made under sub-section (2) of this section shall contain such relevant particulars as the judge in Chambers may specify.’’
- The Constitition, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
• Nigeria Labour Congress on Friday urged the Federal Government to urgently arrest the worsening inter-ethnic crisis in the country.
NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said in a statement that the Federal Government must handle the ongoing agitations and attendant inter-ethnic violence recorded in Jos, Port Harcourt and Umuahia (Abia State) with efficiency in the interest of the country.
• The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, on Friday said he would soon meet with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to address agitation by the group and prevent the likely loss of lives of the people.
The monarch also said he would meet with some notable traditional rulers in the South-East towards proffering solutions to the crisis in the region.
• Following the violent clashes in the South-East, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has placed the Nigeria Police Force on red alert.
He has also deployed some riot personnel in the region to tackle IPOB agitators in the region.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, told correspondents on Friday that helicopters and other surveillance equipment had also been mobilised to the zone to protect all the residents.
• Some Northerners in Imo State have been fleeing the state following the recent attacks on them by IPOB members.
• Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has described as ethnic cleansing the alleged maltreatment and killings of IPOB members by the military in the South-East, saying that he had forewarned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s second coming would be like the dark days of the military government in 1984, when the nation quaked under heavy militarisation.
He said, “I have said it before now that it is only God that can help the Igbo people. What I see going on is ethnic cleansing. When you see the video clips of the and the behaviour of the soldiers, it leaves much to be desired, but they couldn’t act like that without a whistle-blower, somebody is behind them telling them go and cleanse the people.
“That is recklessness; human rights violation in Nigeria today is second to none. And I hope the international community would not be quiet on this. It is unfortunate.”
• Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to dialogue with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to curb the secessionist agitations instead of the deployment of soldiers in the South-East.
• There was palpable tension in the North on Friday as Igbo living in the region feared there could be reprisals against them by northerners over alleged attacks on northerners in the South-East and parts of Rivers State in the South-South.
-Punch.
Everyone is panicking. The security situation is tight. The way security operatives are patrolling the city is very unusual. I think the security agencies are trying to preempt any attack.” - Katsina resident, Musa Ibrahim.
• In a related development, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, warned IPOB members against attacking Nigerians from other parts of the country in the state.
• Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, through his Senior Special Assistant, Media, Abdu Labaran, said the state was safe for every resident regardless of their religious, ethnic or regional background.
The Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, in a statement he personally signed, also appealed to all Nigerians to desist from fanning the embers of disunity by spreading hate and falsehood.
• The Borno State Governor and Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, in a statement also called on northerners not to attack any Igbo or other non-indigenes living in the region.
• A group of Igbos living in Adamawa and Kano states have deplored the current tension ravaging the South-east arising from the separatist agitations of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and the subsequent military response which has led to violence.
Speaking to journalists, the president-general of the Igbo Community in Kano, Ebenezer Chima, said they were concerned over the needless violence.
“We condemn in entirety the avoidable crises happenings in Abia and call for peace. We Igbos residing and doing business in Kano State, unequivocally state that we disassociate ourselves from the activities of IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.”
Mr. Chima, however, called on the federal government to address the reasons for the agitation which he said included across the board social inequality and warped distribution of the nation’s commonwealth.
-Premium Times
• The South-east Governors Forum rose from its meeting on Friday to announce the proscription of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, in all the five states of the zone.
They also appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to withdraw soldiers from the zone while the police carry out their constitutional duty of securing lives and property.
The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, announced this after a meeting of the governors with the South-east leadership of the National Assembly and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo socio-political organisation.
"All the activities of IPOB are hereby proscribed. IPOB and all other aggrieved groups are advised to articulate their position on National issues and submit to the committee of Governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and National Assembly members from the South-East zone through the Chairman of South-East Governors Forum,” - David Umahi.
- Thisday.
• Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) has accused leader of the IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, of an alleged plans to plunge Nigeria into war.
The group in a statement yesterday in Kaduna, said Kanu and his cohorts do not have the interest of the Igbo at heart as his actions were endangering the lives and properties of the Igbo resident outside the southeast.
- Thisday.
• The Kaduna State Government thursday warned that anyone planning to foment trouble would be dealt with by security agencies.
The warning is against the backdrop of alleged attacks on Hausa community in Umuahia, Abia State, by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu.
“My relations back home have been bombarding me with calls and mounting pressure on me to return home” - An Igbo resident in Kaduna.
• The Nigerian military has declared the pro-Biafra separatist group, IPOB, a “terrorist organisation.”
The military made the declaration in a statement on Friday by the Director of Defence Information, John Enenche.
NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said in a statement that the Federal Government must handle the ongoing agitations and attendant inter-ethnic violence recorded in Jos, Port Harcourt and Umuahia (Abia State) with efficiency in the interest of the country.
• The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, on Friday said he would soon meet with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to address agitation by the group and prevent the likely loss of lives of the people.
The monarch also said he would meet with some notable traditional rulers in the South-East towards proffering solutions to the crisis in the region.
• Following the violent clashes in the South-East, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has placed the Nigeria Police Force on red alert.
He has also deployed some riot personnel in the region to tackle IPOB agitators in the region.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, told correspondents on Friday that helicopters and other surveillance equipment had also been mobilised to the zone to protect all the residents.
• Some Northerners in Imo State have been fleeing the state following the recent attacks on them by IPOB members.
• Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has described as ethnic cleansing the alleged maltreatment and killings of IPOB members by the military in the South-East, saying that he had forewarned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s second coming would be like the dark days of the military government in 1984, when the nation quaked under heavy militarisation.
He said, “I have said it before now that it is only God that can help the Igbo people. What I see going on is ethnic cleansing. When you see the video clips of the and the behaviour of the soldiers, it leaves much to be desired, but they couldn’t act like that without a whistle-blower, somebody is behind them telling them go and cleanse the people.
“That is recklessness; human rights violation in Nigeria today is second to none. And I hope the international community would not be quiet on this. It is unfortunate.”
• Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to dialogue with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to curb the secessionist agitations instead of the deployment of soldiers in the South-East.
• There was palpable tension in the North on Friday as Igbo living in the region feared there could be reprisals against them by northerners over alleged attacks on northerners in the South-East and parts of Rivers State in the South-South.
-Punch.
Everyone is panicking. The security situation is tight. The way security operatives are patrolling the city is very unusual. I think the security agencies are trying to preempt any attack.” - Katsina resident, Musa Ibrahim.
• In a related development, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, warned IPOB members against attacking Nigerians from other parts of the country in the state.
• Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, through his Senior Special Assistant, Media, Abdu Labaran, said the state was safe for every resident regardless of their religious, ethnic or regional background.
The Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, in a statement he personally signed, also appealed to all Nigerians to desist from fanning the embers of disunity by spreading hate and falsehood.
• The Borno State Governor and Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, in a statement also called on northerners not to attack any Igbo or other non-indigenes living in the region.
• A group of Igbos living in Adamawa and Kano states have deplored the current tension ravaging the South-east arising from the separatist agitations of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and the subsequent military response which has led to violence.
Speaking to journalists, the president-general of the Igbo Community in Kano, Ebenezer Chima, said they were concerned over the needless violence.
“We condemn in entirety the avoidable crises happenings in Abia and call for peace. We Igbos residing and doing business in Kano State, unequivocally state that we disassociate ourselves from the activities of IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.”
Mr. Chima, however, called on the federal government to address the reasons for the agitation which he said included across the board social inequality and warped distribution of the nation’s commonwealth.
-Premium Times
• The South-east Governors Forum rose from its meeting on Friday to announce the proscription of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, in all the five states of the zone.
They also appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to withdraw soldiers from the zone while the police carry out their constitutional duty of securing lives and property.
The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, announced this after a meeting of the governors with the South-east leadership of the National Assembly and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo socio-political organisation.
"All the activities of IPOB are hereby proscribed. IPOB and all other aggrieved groups are advised to articulate their position on National issues and submit to the committee of Governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and National Assembly members from the South-East zone through the Chairman of South-East Governors Forum,” - David Umahi.
- Thisday.
• Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) has accused leader of the IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, of an alleged plans to plunge Nigeria into war.
The group in a statement yesterday in Kaduna, said Kanu and his cohorts do not have the interest of the Igbo at heart as his actions were endangering the lives and properties of the Igbo resident outside the southeast.
- Thisday.
• The Kaduna State Government thursday warned that anyone planning to foment trouble would be dealt with by security agencies.
The warning is against the backdrop of alleged attacks on Hausa community in Umuahia, Abia State, by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu.
“My relations back home have been bombarding me with calls and mounting pressure on me to return home” - An Igbo resident in Kaduna.
• The Nigerian military has declared the pro-Biafra separatist group, IPOB, a “terrorist organisation.”
The military made the declaration in a statement on Friday by the Director of Defence Information, John Enenche.
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