Nnamdi Kanu
President
Muhammadu Buhari has been advised on how to deal with the proscribed
IPOB group as well as their leader, Nnamdi Kanu who is nowhere to be
found.
Following the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra,
IPOB, the Concerned Citizen Coalition of Nigeria (CCCN) has appealed to
the Federal Government to immediately arrest leader of the group, Nnamdi
Kanu and its members.
CCCN said this would stop them from “terrorizing citizens.” The
body also urged Federal Government to identify and deal with those who
contributed to the funding of IPOB.
CCCN harped on the need to dismantle IPOB’s network both locally and internationally.
Commending the Federal High Court for declaring the pro-Biafra
group as a terrorist organization, the body urged the Federal Government
to go a step further by probing IPOB’s foreign connections.
In a statement signed by its National President, Musa Omale, CCCN
appealed to the media to avoid spreading propaganda by separatists
groups.
The statement reads, “May we use this opportunity to call on
the Nigerian Police Force and the Department of State Services, DSS, to
immediately go after all the known IPOB terrorists other than its
leader, Nnamdi Kanu.”
“There are several videos showing the faces of these terrorists
particularly the ones documenting the launch of their militant arm,
Biafra Secret Service. The terror group had boasted of having its cells
outside of the south-east so attention should not be focused only on
this area but the dragnet should be all over the place.
“The Federal High Court in Abuja under Acting Chief Justice
Abdu Kafarati on Wednesday September 20, 2017 ordered that the
Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is a terror organization. The order
also effectively designated any activity carried out under the name of
the group as an act of terrorism.
“The Concerned Citizen Coalition of Nigeria (CCCN) lauds the
Court Judgement proscribing the IPOB, designation as a terror group. The
judgement is a vindication of the concerns earlier expressed by the
Nigerian Army that what troops are confronting in the south east is pure
terrorism. The ruling should now put to rest any controversy over the
nature of IPOB, whose criminal activities have no connection with
agitation for a fairer share of the nation’s resources.
“We commend the Nigerian Army for promptly identifying IPOB as
the existential threat it was to the country and for not giving up even
when aggressive propaganda was mounted to attempt ridiculing its
assertion.
“The Court order has vindicated the position of the Nigerian
Army as the best friend of the Nigerian people and humanity who would
stop at nothing until its mandate to defend the land from external and
internally masterminded insurgencies against the county are all halted.
“The selflessness, patriotism and devotion to the country are
quite commendable and must be saluted at all times. This coalition urges
the Army to remain committed to the ideals of democracy in its onerous
duties of defending the territorial integrity of our country from both
internal and external aggressors in the country.
“We wish to commend those Nigerians that displayed uncommon
patriotism to agitate that IPOB should be called what it is, a terror
organization. Nigeria is bigger than any parochial interest and we must
keep it so. It is important we are not taken down the Boko Haram route
again when people initially maintained an air of indifference because
they chose to view the terror group from political, religious and ethnic
perspectives.
“May we use this opportunity to call on the Nigerian Police
Force and the Department of State Services, DSS, to immediately go after
all the known IPOB terrorists other than its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. There
are several videos showing the faces of these terrorists particularly
the ones documenting the launch of their militant arm, Biafra Secret
Service. The terror group had boasted of having its cells outside of the
south-east so attention should not be focused only on this area but the
dragnet should be all over the place.
“Security agencies must also put the other separatist groups in
the country under watch so that IPOB members do not migrate to such
entities to continue terrorizing citizens.
“We appeal to the government to educate Nigerians, especially
media practitioners, on the implications of advancing terrorist
propaganda. The Anti-Terror law has strict provisions for anyone that
engages in this. While ignorance is no excuse in law it is nonetheless
important to sensitize citizens about the provisions of this law
especially as it affects communicating on behalf of terrorists. We
therefore hope that stakeholders would pay heed and stop publishing
contents from terrorists.
“Beyond successfully designating IPOB as a terror group, we
urge the Federal Government to immediately commence dismantling the
group’s network and its infrastructure. Its finances must be blocked and
anyone that contributes to its funding should be appropriately dealt
with. IPOB’s foreign connections should be probed and strongly worded
communication should be sent to any country found to be hosting the
terror group’s cells.
“On the domestic front, we urge that the government begin to
attend to legitimate agitations that are presented through recognized
representatives. Our counsel at this point is that we should not make
the mistake of localizing the call for fair treatment to one ethnic
group. All the ethnic groupings in the country each have one grievance
or the other. They should all be looked into without favoring one group
over the other so that no one would again use situations that are
collectively deplored as excuses to start terror groups.”
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