The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has urged the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to stop barricading public roads for any form of demonstration.
The party also condemned the statement by Anambra State government that MASSOB’s demonstration was illegal, the demonstrators not having obtained a police permit.
This idea, according to the APC, was an antiquated one, coming from a tottering government that had lost touch with reality.
A statement by the Publicity Secretary Okelo Madukaife said the need for police permit had been proactively overruled by superior courts.
The statement reads: “It is our view that the Anambra State government failed in its responsibility to fill a dialogue and care vacuum that led to the avoidable carnage.
“We recall with pain, that this is not the first time, and that such similar failures and lack of respect for life led to the demolition of suspects’ property ahead of trial and in some cases, no trial afterwards.
“We urge youths of Anambra State and their counterparts outside the state to embark on the peaceful path of trading ideas, not coercion on why they think Nigeria should be discussing Biafra now.
“We strongly advise against picking up arms against the state, as such beaten path belongs to the distant past, but insist that grievances must be brought to the fore through a more responsive representation in Awka and Abuja, to be squarely addressed, particularly as it affects the structures of the current federation.
“Our Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reviewed the clash between demonstrators from the group (IPOB) and (MASSOB) on one hand, and security agencies deployed in Anambra State as part of the larger Southeast, to the extent of information so far available, and wish to condole the yet to be identified families of those who lost their lives in that incident.
“The level of casualties is high and is clearly avoidable with greater determination on the part of all citizens to obey and work within the law.
“We reassert that every group in the polity is by the expressed guarantee of the 1999 Constitution entitled to celebrate and to protest peacefully, respecting the right of others not to agree with their pursuit.
“In this wise, we call on the security agencies to review their mode of operation, paying heed to the casualty figures just recorded in the May 30 crisis, which surprisingly was peculiarly high in Anambra State.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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