02062021 - Attacks on INEC offices won’t stop 2023 polls —BUHARI

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28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 VOL. 2 NO. 72 Officers of IGP's Operation Restore Peace in South East Operation Restore Peace in South East: Is it for peace or war? •Seek peaceful solution for national unity, peaceful coexistence — Ohanaeze •Says dream of Nigerian unity fading fast with crises and conflicts •South East now a site of organized criminality — Nzuko Umunna •Conduct proper forensic audit on Unknown Gunmen syndrome — Igbo group •Refrain from the use of force in resolving the present crises — Group •It will lead to genocide; we in believe in a peaceful resolution — ADF •IGP’s order provocative — Nwaonuma, Awka resident •Establishment of state police'll bring peace — Enugu monarch •End carnage in South East, we are not at war — Prof. Igwe •Only restructuring, dialogue'll return peace to S-East – Obasi By Anayo Okoli, Vincent Ujumadu, Chinedu Adonu, Ugochukwu Alaribe & Ikechukwu Odu ENUGU—THE South East zone has of recent come under intense attacks with killings and maiming, mainly of policemen whose stations were equally burnt or destroyed by so-called “Unknown Gunmen”, a new lexicon in the vocabulary of Nigerian security system. The frequency of the attacks prompted the Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Alikali Baba, to launch what he codenamed, “Operation Restore Peace” in the South East, to tackle the ugly situation. Inaugurating the operations in Enugu, the IGP charged his men to be civil with law-abiding citizens, “but firm and ruthless with criminal elements and secessionists that may attempt to take the risk of testing your will or threatening the citizens within your area of jurisdiction.” Also worrisome was the reported comments credited to the Acting IGP, which alleged that he told police officers to ignore human rights while dealing with insecurity in the Southeast, an action that would only escalate the crisis in the zone. Though the IGP may have genuine interest to restore sanity and peace in the zone, however, his method is questionable. This is why many stakeholders in the zone, including Igbo groups, human rights groups and Igbo leaders have faulted the IGP’s directive. They argued that it will give policemen wide latitude to kill Igbo youths majority of whom are already branded enemies of the Buhari government by security operatives and a section of the country. How best do they think policemen can peacefully carry out the order; and what in their view is the best method to restore peace in the southeast? The apex Igbo socio-cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemned any directive that would amount to shootat-sight on Igbo youths by the police or any other security agency, advising the Nigerian government to learn a lesson from history by not fighting an unwinnable war against nationalism. Rather than confrontational attitude, Ohanaeze urged the Buhari-led government to “seek possible peaceful options that are the only solution that guarantee national unity and peaceful coexistence. Ohanaeze noted with regret that “sub-national consciousness or ethnocentric nationalism which is a dangerous form of nationalism to national unity has taken over Nigeria”, and warned that by the way the nation is going that “the dream of Nigeria unity is receding and fading fast with violence, crises and conflicts.” In a statement by its spokesman, Alex Ogbonnia, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor was quoted as being “unequivocal that the current problems confronting Nigeria for instance, ethnic militia, agitation for secession, insurgency, etc are a product of sustained orchestrated injustice in governance.” Ohanaeze warned against handling South East youths different from their counterparts from other regions is not the best way to go. Also, the apex Igbo body quarreled with the way and manner security chiefs deploy officers applying ethnic bias, saying it would not make for peace. “The pattern of deployment of Northern military officers to the South- East lends credence to the above report. Reports revealed that in the Nigerian army has posted Northern Muslims as commanders over its operations and Ohanaeze Ndigbo is unequivocal that the current problems confronting Nigeria, e.g. ethnic militia, agitation for secession, insurgency, etc are a product of sustained orchestrated injustice in governance... It is clearly admitted even by fair-minded Northerners that the Igbo have been systematically marginalized since the civil war brigades in Anambra, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Benue, Edo, Delta and Rivers. “In Anambra State, the Cantonment Commandant of the 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, is Col. Abdulsalam Abubakar Sambo, a Hausa-Fulani Muslim; while in Imo State, the Brigade Commander of 34 Brigade, Obinze, is Brig Gen Ibrahim Tukura, another northerner; in Abia State, the Brigade Commander of 14 Brigade, Ohafia, is Brig Gen M. Ibrahim, still, a northerner; while in Akwa Ibom State, the Brigade Commander of 2 Brigade, Uyo, is Brig Gen Faruk Mijinyawa, another northerner. This is truly worrisome! “The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Prof. George Obiozor, an erudite scholar, seasoned diplomat with diverse experience in governments, has admonished the Nigerian government to “learn a lesson from history by not fighting an unwinnable war against nationalism but seek possible peaceful options that are the only solution that guarantees national unity and peaceful coexistence”. Obiozor lamented that “sub-national consciousness or ethnocentric nationalism which is a dangerous form of nationalism to national unity has taken over Nigeria”, and warned that “the dream of Nigeria unity is receding and fading fast with violence, crises and conflicts. “Ohanaeze Ndigbo is unequivocal that the current problems confronting Nigerian, e.g. ethnic militia, agitation for secession, insurgency, etc are a product of sustained orchestrated injustice in governance. It is clearly admitted even by fair- minded Northerners that the Igbo have been systematically marginalized since the civil war. “The problem with Nigeria in general and the Igbo in particular is located in injustice and the simple solution lays in manifest dialogue, equity and justice. “Ohanaeze Ndigbo warns that any shoot-at-sight order to security operatives on Igbo youth is a call for another pogrom and genocide. “Ohanaeze asks the federal government to refrain from the use of force in resolving the present national crises. History shows that military and violent means to solve the national question is bound to fail as it leads to further national fractionalization, anarchy and eventual or inevitable disintegration, as in all empires or multinational states or countries.” Also reacting to the IGP’s alleged comment and body language, Igbo elite group, Alaigbo Development Foundation, ADF, cautioned against any reckless speech and action and warned that the police have no right to give a “shootat-sight” blanket order to their officers, saying “It will lead to genocide and in the event of genocide, Igbo groups will take up the matter at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. Nigerian security officials charged for genocide should get ready to go there and defend themselves.” According to spokesman of ADF, Chief Abi Onyike, “Some people believe that the killing of police men and burning of public facilities by unknown gunmen may be the handiwork of agent provocateurs who are acting as mercenaries of the federal authorities, with a view to preparing the grounds for the military invasion of the South East. “We in ADF believe in a peaceful resolution of the current crisis which has bedeviled the Nigerian federation. The crisis is the brainchild of President Buhari regime which pursued anti-Igbo policies to a level of brazen impunity.” Onyike, a former information Commissioner in Ebonyi State, said: “The seeming official endorsement of the atrocities of Fulani herdsmen by the government and the alleged islamization policies of the Islamic diehards under Buhari’s regime have combined to worsen the security situation. “The only way forward is for President Buhari to call a Sovereign National Conference to address the crises. We restate our call for a new constitution, a return to regional autonomy of the federating units and the adoption of fiscal federalism. “The idea of blaming secessionists is a bankrupt and useless idea. When you pursue policies of marginalization against mega ethnic nationalities like the Igbo and Yoruba, what do you expect? These are independent nations bigger than most African countries. If you push them to the wall, they can assert their right to self-determination, which is in line with the United Nations resolution of 2007. “The era of empire states is over. The Caliphate ruling class in Nigeria should not drag Nigeria to a civil war because of their extremist ideas. If they are not ready for political reforms, then the blame should be placed on their doorpost if Nigeria is destroyed.” Igbo think tank group, Nzuko Umuna condemned the reported comments of Alkali Usman Baba, the acting Inspector General of Police, who allegedly told police officers to ignore human rights while dealing with insecurity in the south-east, saying such comment would only escalate the crisis in the region. “We consider this statement horrifying, frightening and unutterable in a democracy with entrenched constitutional rights to life and due process. ‘We are more surprised that the head of the Nigerian Police will make such an outrageous statement authorising state violence in a region that, for long, has been seething at police brutality and extortion and a region whose youths have been extra-judicially killed by security agents in large numbers,“ the group said. Nzuko Umuna lamented the increasing insecurity in the country, particularly the South East region, and attributed it to “injustice, inequalities and lack of good governance.” Dr. Sam Amadi, rights activist and chairman of the legal committee of Nzuko Umuna, who addressed journalists in Abuja, noted that the “unfair and unequal treatment of citizens have compounded the insecurity crisis.” According to Amadi, the South East which used to be the “safest region in Nigeria has become a site of organized criminality. “Nzuko Umuna recognizes that Nigeria has descended into a depth of insecurity partly because of the failure of governance across the country and particularly because of inequities and injustices of political leadership in Nigeria. “We acknowledge that the perception of unfair and unequal treatment of citizens compounds the insecurity crisis,” the group said. Continuing, Nzuko Umuna said: “Statements like those of the IGP further deepen the sense of victimization by the state and therefore escalates the crisis. We stand with the south-east governors, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other civic organizations in Igbo to demand proper forensic audit of the hitherto unheard Unknown Gunmen syndrome as it is strange to the customs and norms of people of the region. “We know from data available in public domain that there has been escalation of killing of police officers across the country before the current wave of attacks in the South East. “This suggests that the ‘unknown gunmen’ phenomenon may relate to a more complex crisis of insecurity in Nigeria. With open borders, increasing poverty and frustration of youths, corruption in the most hallowed centres of law enforcement, herdsmen violence and banditry, and political brigandage in Nigeria, a simplistic and unscientific explanation of the ‘Unknown Gunmen’ phenomenon does not suffice,“ Nzuko Umunna said. In the opinion of the traditional ruler of Obimo Community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Igwe Spencer Ugwuoke, the establishment of the state police in South East Nigeria will bring peace. Ugwuoke also advised that the state police should be constituted of indigenous people who know the terrain of different localities and can identify criminal elements in different villages in the zone. He suggested that the state police personnel could liaise with men of the Nigeria police force to rid the states in South East of crimes and other vices. According to him, using police personnel from different states outside the zone to enforce Operation Restore Peace in South East would continue to generate suspicion from the people of the zone on the latent intention of the Inspector General of Police. The monarch also urged the Federal Government to create the fourth tier of government which would empower traditional rulers who are the Chief Security Officers of different communities to legally play roles in securing different communities in the zone. For Isaac Nwaonuma, who said he Continues on page 29
Operation Restore Peace in South East: Is it for peace or war? Continued from Page 28 supports Biafra but does not like the activities of unknown gunmen, his advice is for the police to evolve ways of identifying those who target police men and stations and INEC offices and deal with them decisively. According to him, those the IGP described as secessionists are only demanding their freedom from an oppressed society, adding that if the country was properly structured, the issue of secession would not arise. He said: “I cannot deny that I have sympathy for Biafra and my support for the pro Biafra agitators is borne out the marginalization of the people of South East from the affairs of the country. We are speaking out so that leaders of the country can turn a new leaf and do the needful, which is giving the South East region what is due to it.'' Another respondent, Mr. Magnus Onyedika said that the police has adopted a dangerous method of swooping on beer palours rounding up all the young men and detaining them on the allegation that they are pro-Biafra agitators, while those who attack police stations could not be arrested. He, however, advised Igbo youths to be mindful of what they say in public and where they go to as many security operatives have put their ears on ground to listen to what people say in any gathering. Renowned academic, Prof. Obasi Igwe in his contribution, called on Federal Government and Nigerian Army, police and other security agencies involved in killing innocent people in the South East to immediately end the unwarranted carnage, saying there is no war going on in the region. Igwe also enjoined other wellmeaning Nigerians to join in condemning what he called “the officially sponsored war in the East”. He believed that the ongoing violence crisis in the southeast is stage managed. He said: “There is not a single verifiable logical or empirical evidence to prove that it is either IPOB or the ESN outfit, or other Igbo youths that are behind the sudden violence attacks in the East; all we hear are repeated assertions by the authorities, which we are expected to swallow as the truth. “Imo Governor had said that 70% of those arrested for the mayhem in Imo were not Igbo; and if there were any Igbo among them, were they not publicly questioned to know if they were sent by IPOB. Ebonyi Governor equally exonerated the Igbo from the atrocities, which might be the reason for his probably being summoned to Abuja. The policeman whose bomb or grenade exploded on him in an Afikpo school, was he Igbo or IPOB/ESN? “Another twist to the Goebellian/NAZI propaganda is that ships have been sighted in the high seas with which Cameroonian Ambazonia are carrying arms to IPOB for an attack on Lagos and bomb the Yoruba, and we are still waiting for the boarding and arrest of the vessel. Next is that IPOB/ESN, no more Fulani aided by officialdom are now the ones killing Benue brothers. In all these are efforts to scratch out a Cassius belli to conquer the Igbo/ East. “One question that the federal government has not answered is: why leave the heavily armed Fulani terrorists embedded in Eastern/Southern/Middle Belt forests and killing Nigerians, sacking farms and villages, and instead waging a ferocious war against those trying to flush them out from their places; are the ESN more heavily “armed” than the Hisbah police and army terrorizing southerners in the Sharia North? “Why is it that most of the police men killed in the stations are Igbo; is it not by secret information that the non-Igbo disappear prior to the attack only for their Igbo colleagues to innocently report for duty only to meet their death? Like in the Imo case, is it possible for the IPOB/ESN to infiltrate and bomb a military asset (prison, etc.) surrounded by sundry security infrastructure, safely evacuate the inmates, and neatly melt into thin air with absolutely zero. “Above all, have the IPOB/ ESN repeatedly not denied any responsibility in the bombings? “We are not members of the IPOB and do not support the killing of security personnel, but on the other hand, we totally reject the blackmail of using the IPOB to kill our children or any other Easterners/Nigerians, and condemn the unwarranted elimination of the population of Igbo/Eastern youths under the pretext of fighting a secession happening in radio agitation.” In his own opinion, a chieftain of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Jerry Obasi, said only restructuring and dialogue with the agitators will return peace to the South East zone. Obasi insisted that police or military action would only aggravate the problem and make the attackers more daring in their bid to achieve their objectives of making the South East zone a war theatre. He condemned the IGP’s ruthless order to policemen, stressing that such directives in a zone where extrajudicial killings by security agents is the order of the day is very dangerous. “The Federal Government should restructure the country; there are lots of injustices meted against the South East in Nigeria. Even the blind have confirmed that military action isn’t working and will never work. If the Federal Government can negotiate with Boko Haram and other insurgents in the North, Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 — 29 what stops it from negotiating with IPOB and other agitating groups in the South East? The problem is that the current federal government sees the Igbo as second class citizens and conquered people. “The IGP’s directive is unfortunate. Such an order in a country where extrajudicial killings by policemen have been the order of the day is dangerous. No matter the insecurity situation, this order shows that IGP Baba is not well schooled in the management of civil strife. Nigeria has become a police state; the order from the IGP has confirmed it. “Though it is widely known that hoodlums now hide under the guise of agitation to commit crime, there should have been better ways of tackling the problem. The directive will kill more innocent persons than the criminals. ''The IGP ought to have been circumspect with the order. Now, he has licensed the police to kill people under the guise of fighting criminals. The order can’t solve the problem; it will rather add fuel to the raging fire. “There is too much bottled-up anger in Igbo land. No Igbo man is qualified to head any security arm, the Igbo are angry with Nigeria. There should be more engagement with the people to ascertain the problem and how best to solve it. Engaging or negotiating with the IPOB isn’t a bad idea. Such negotiations are needed at this time. The federal government needs to be careful because arms and ammunition have entered into the wrong hands,” Obasi said. Obasi also berated the South East governors, accusing them of allowing the secession problem in the zone to fester to the extent of almost consuming the people. “The South East governors have not done well in handling the IPOB crisis. This is a problem that they could have successfully handled at the root stage, but they were only interested in the politics of 2023 and listening to their Fulani pay masters. Look at what Governor Hope Uzodinma has been doing in Imo State. He has been adding fire to the crisis through his unguided utterances,” he said. He urged the federal government to thoroughly investigate the attacks on police formations in the South East zone, stressing that the blanket conclusion on IPOB may not be totally correct. THE TEAM SUPERVISING EDITOR: Chioma Gabriel, Lagos (08052201257) REGIONAL EDITOR Anayo Okoli, Enugu 08034046839 Vincent Ujumadu, Awka Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri Dennis Agbo, Enugu Peter Okutu, Abakaliki Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi Nwabueze Okonkwo, Onitsha Chinedu Adonu, Enugu Ugochukwu Alaribe, Aba Chinonso Alozie, Owerri Eric Ugbor, Aba Ikechukwu Odu, Nsukka Steve Oko, Aba
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02062021 - Attacks on INEC offices won’t stop 2023 polls —BUHARI

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