The Chairman of the South-east
Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, said yesterday that
the forum decided to ban the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB) to arrest the situation in the region from escalating.
Mr. Umahi, who briefed journalists
in his office in Abakaliki, said the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, was gradually
losing control of the situation and his members, prompting the governors to
wade in to prevent further bloodshed. He said the proscription had achieved the
desired result.
He said IPOB has lost its
original ideal by causing unnecessary tension and killings in the South-East
which he said has affected investment drive in the region.
The governor also said that based
on the evidence before him, the military did not attack IPOB members on Sunday
as claimed by Mr. Kanu and that it was the IPOB members who threw bottles and
stones at the military officers who were passing by.
“When you put a small fire, it
can go very far and become difficult to control. The IPOB activities were
gradually getting out of the control of Nnamdi Kanu. Soldiers were passing on
the way when IPOB members started throwing stones and other objects at them and
it sparked off the clash between the group and the military.
“It is a shame that when this thing
happened, a man called Charles Ogbu sent out phone numbers of all South-East
governors, the Senate President and others and all our people could do was to
be calling us to insult us. These are people who never experienced any war in
their lives,” he added.
He said the lives of northerners
and all non-indigenes in the state and zone must be guaranteed at all times,
warning that security agencies have been directed to deal decisively with
anyone who tries to cause a breach of the peace.
“Our focus is how to save lives
of every Nigerian and we believe in a united Nigeria. Lives of people are
involved and we must not play politics with that.
“Anybody that wants to foment
trouble must be crushed and I want security agencies to beef up security around
all the non-indigenes in the state and to report to me any problem because we
must maintain the peace,” he said.
The governor called on youth to
stop insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the country.
He also noted that northern
governors will soon visit the South-east, a visit which will also be
reciprocated by the South-east governors to the North as a means of fostering
unity in the country.
He said majority of the Igbo do
not want secession from Nigeria but to be treated fairly and justly in the
county.
“That is why we are all talking
about restructuring, there is no part of this country that is not feeling
marginalised somehow and that is why all the zones are setting up committees on
restructuring,” the governor said.
Mr. Umahi, however, noted that
injustice or marginalisation should not be a reason to talk about secession,
maintaining that dialogue should be the best way to resolve and redress all
differences.
He pointed out that the federal
government has commenced discussion on the issue of marginalization and that it
is not a matter that can be addressed through violence.
Umahi added that the South-east
governors’ forum would conduct investigation to find out what really transpired
between the Nigeria military and IPOB members.
He further stated that the
Operation Python Dance was not aimed at intimidating anyone. He gave instance
of the recent killing of a priest by some hoodlums in Owerri, the Ozubulu
church shooting, kidnapping, armed robbery in the region as reasons for the
operation.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the
IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu is still unknown. According to one of his brothers,
Nnamdi Kanu left the house alongside his parents a day before the troops
invaded their residence. He added that Nnamdi’s phones were not reachable and
that no member of the family knows where he is at the moment.
A top ranking officer in the
Nigeria Army, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said
the IPOB leader is not in the custody of the military.
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Shame shame shame on these slave traders of their own people that they are supposed to lead. Just for crumbs of their own people's wealth that Abuja gives them. Warrent chiefs.
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