Senate
President, Bukola Saraki, has described as unconstitutional, last Friday's
announcement by the Nigerian Army that IPOB is a militant terrorist group whose
activities have been banned in Nigeria. In a statement released this morning,
Saraki said the action by the Army and also the South East governors who
proscribed IPOBs activities, did not follow due process. Read his statement
below...
1. Following
the clash between the military and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB), I hereby call for calm and restraint by all Nigerians so that we would
all jointly find the right solution to the current problem rather than
worsening the crisis.
2. Our
brothers and sisters in the South-east, in particular, should continue to
maintain peace and tranquility and go about their lawful business. This crisis
will not benefit anybody but would only expose innocent people to unwarranted
danger.
3. At this
point, Nigerians outside the South-east who have worked to ensure that the
crisis does not spread to other parts of the country deserve our commendation.
I therefore call for continued efforts to sustain peace, unity and stability in
all our communities so as to ensure that all residents, no matter their
religion, tribe and creed remain protected and safe under the law.
4. It is
also important that commentators and purveyors of information on all media
platforms should be conscious of the need, at all times, to maintain the unity
of the country. Therefore, they must refrain from circulating information that
has the potential for aggravating the crisis. We should all realize, as individuals
and as a collective, that Nigeria is all we have and it is in our individual
and collective interests that we do not stoke the fire of crisis and fan the
ember of discord through the message we are spreading. We must all protect and
strengthen our country rather than contributing to her collapse and
disintegration.
5. I also
wish to state that the announcement of the proscription of the group known as
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by Governors of the South-east states and
the categorization of the group as a 'terrorist organisation' by the Nigerian
military are unconstitutional and does not follow due process. Our laws make
clear provisions for taking such actions and without the due process being
followed, such declaration cannot have effect. I am sure the President will do
the needful by initiating the right process. This will go a long way in
demonstrating to the world at large that we are a country that operate by laid
down process under every circumstance. So, those who have been hammering on
this point should maintain their cool.
6. We must
commend the military for their efforts in restoring peace to different parts of
the country and sustaining the unity of the country. However, in the face of
provocation, the military should allow themselves to be guided by their
training which emphasizes respect for human rights, even in war. Also, giving
the nature of this particular situation, the military has every reason to be
hesitant in the use of force.
7. Also, it
is my view that we should not over-stretch the military. We need to protect our
military against dissipation of their fighting strength. And this means we need
to strengthen the police and equip them with the capacity to deal with civil
crisis. That is why we, in the aNational Assembly, are already reviewing the
Police Act and also looking at the possibility of enabling other para-military
agencies to help in curbing civil unrest and maintenance of law and order.
8. I want to
also make it clear that the National Assembly intends to embark on a
fact-finding investigation aimed at determining what actually happened during
the period of the military exercise in the South-east. We want to be able to
sift the facts from the fiction and determine who did what. It is quite clear
that all the facts are not yet known. We assure Nigerians that there will be no
cover up. We intend to lay the facts bare.
9. On a long
term, we want to remind Nigerians that the reason for embarking on constitution
review by the National Assembly was to enable us look into issues that are
agitating the minds of Nigerians and creating tension among us. We have
promised that the exercise would be continuous. We intend to keep that promise
by further taking decisions that would strengthen and improve on our
structures. The Eighth National Assembly, on resumption, will play its
constitutional role by addressing all those issues that are agitating the minds
of our people and over which they feel so strong. I appeal to all our people to
always direct their grievances to the right channels.
10. Let me
further reiterate the need for all leaders of thought -political. religious and
traditional- to continue to engage with our people on the need to maintain
peace and be our brothers' keepers.
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