Former governor of
Anambra State, Dr. Chukwudi Ezeife has said that the Amnesty International
report that painted a gory picture of how the Nigerian military killed in
cold
blood about 150 unarmed people agitating for the sovereignty of Biafra, was an
open truth.
According to him,
the Federal Government is using the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the
separatist group, Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) as a bait to kill more
Igbo, and called for his immediate release.
A former Commissioner
of Police Abubakar Tsav however disagreed with him saying those killed in the
Biafra struggle deserved to die because they must have committed treasonable
felony. Describing Amnesty International’s claims as being unfair to the
Nigerian Army and other security agencies, Tsav
said if IPOB members were not
armed, the security agents would not
have opened fire on them.
Ezeife however said:
“The report is true. The people wanted to have a ceremony, so they carried
their Bibles to church in Onitsha, but armed soldiers and armed policemen
opened fire on them; killing them at random and threw them into the river. What
is more important is that the court had freed the leader of Independent People
of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, but the Federal Government refused to let him
go. What is the purpose of detaining him further?
“One, this is to
show disdain for the Igbo people, and second by keeping him in detention, some
people will get annoyed and while protesting they are mowed down. My advice to
our people, young and old is to understand that Kanu is a bait used by
government to kill our people. There is no need to keep on holding him. Even
those who committed more serious offences known to Nigerians have been set
free.
“He is being held as
bait to kill more Igbos. We know that about 50 people were killed in Owerri,
and now Amnesty International has told us also that more than 150 persons were
killed in Onitsha. These people didn’t go to the church with machetes or any
weapon, it was only the Bible and yet they were mowed down in that manner, tell
me how you feel, even if they were not from your side? It is just like mowing
down the psyche of the Igbo. These were human beings, and there is nowhere in
the Koran or the Holy Bible that justifies the killing of innocent people;
nothing in common sense justifies it. The government should release Kanu
immediately, and not to use him as a trap to kill more Igbo.”
He condemned a
statement allegedly made by President Buhari that as long as those who fought
the Nigeria-Biafra war are still alive, that anybody who raises the issue of
Biafra must be unserious is heart rendering.
“Our people should
know that they are targets, and Kanu is the trap for mowing them down if they
move. We pray the Almighty God, who created Nigeria and designed a path for an
unmatched greatness for the country to get into the leadership of the nation
and the mind of Buhari and change his thinking to the direction of survival and
to the direction of the governed.
“We pray God to make
Hausa/Fulani appreciate the great gift Nigeria is to the world; to make Yoruba
appreciates the same; to make Igbo appreciate the same and every Nigerian
appreciates the same and to understand the greatness of their country, which is
the largest congregation of black people on earth. The country that has no
earthquake, no volcano – don’t mind the landslide that happened in Kaduna, it
was the blood of the innocent people being killed there that was crying, it was
not an earthquake. The person who has the best food sometimes doesn’t know what
he has until it is taken away from him. We have Nigeria as the best country
created by God and we are toying with it.
Igbo can endure and
make friends with non-Igbo Nigerians, but Fulanis are endangered because if
they continue to do this kind of thing, Nigerians will tell them to go back to
their Futa Jallon Mountian; Hausa will answer their father’s name, and all core
groups will desert Nigeria. Nigeria has failed woefully. It has failed God and
man.
“God created us as
the largest concentration of black people on earth, endowed and gave us
talented people from different tribes, but instead of exploring them, we engage
in stealing from every dimension from primary school, to secondary school to
university, to police, to army, judiciary, executive, legislature; we have
corrupted Nigeria, we have generated shame in the face of black people,
therefore a change is a must. We must forget APC; we must forget PDP, and all
those institutions of corruption and bribery and create a befitting country”,
he stressed.
Responding, Alhaji
Abubakar Tsav dismissed the Amnesty International’s report as unfair to the
Nigerian Army and other security agencies. Tsav
said if IPOB members were not armed,
the Army and other security agencies
would not have shot at them.
“I don’t think
Amnesty International has been fair at all. What do you expect the Army, Police
and other security agencies to do when they are confronted with armed
protesters? Do you expect them to fold their hands when they come under fire? If
these demonstrators are not armed and violent, nobody would use force against
them’’, he declared.
While describing
IPOB’s activities as amounting to an
act of treason, Tsav said no responsible government would fold its arms while
some elements are engaged in acts capable of leading to break down of law and
order.
Insisting that the Army and other security agencies
should be given fair hearing, Tsav added
‘’If the force used by security agencies
against Biafra agitators is proportionate to the force threatened by the Biafra
agitators, the security agencies will be justified in the deaths of Biafran
agitators. However if it is the other way round then security agencies can be accused of unlawful killings.”
Tsav who commended
the way the Federal Government has been handling IPOB’s issue accused IPOB and
MASSOB members of engaging in illegal
acts.
“All these
agitations and demonstrations are needless. There are other legitimate channels through which these people
can express their grievances. They can
get to the National Assembly through their elected representatives who
in turn will table their case before
the appropriate authorities. Taking to
the streets, embarking on violent demonstrations, and disrupting commercial
activities at their own will is not
acceptable. Enough is enough”, he declared.
Urging the Federal Government not to release IPOB
leader, Nnamdi Kanu who is being detained, Tsav said Kanu should not be released but rather should be made to continue with his on-going trial.
‘’Why should Kanu be
released? He has committed an offence. He has committed treason. If Kalu is
released, his release will encourage others to
take to crime. His trial by the Federal Government should be pursued to a logical conclusion. Where was
Kanu and his co-travellers during the Nigerian civil war? It is likely some of
them were not yet born. Nigeria can’t afford any war again, and this is why Kanu and his
followers must be checkmated’’,
he declared.
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