Just days after a peace conference with the governors of the Southeast states in Enugu in August 2017, the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, has questioned how its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was labelled a terrorist.
In a statement titled “Where Was the Terrorism Between August and September 2017?” IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful posed the query on Tuesday.
Kanu called for the implementation of development projects and initiatives in the Southeast during the peace summit at the Enugu State Government House.
However, the Nigerian Army’s Operation Python Dance forces attacked Kanu’s family home in Umuahia, Abia State, a few days after the meeting, purportedly at the Southeast governors’ request. Kanu managed to flee, but other people were reportedly slain in the process.
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In a statement released on Tuesday, IPOB demanded that the Nigerian government provide an explanation for Kanu’s abrupt designation as a terrorist following the peace conference in Enugu.
“The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by the prophet of our generation, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, asks the Nigerian Government and the international community one simple question: Where was the terrorism,” the statement said.
“On August 30, 2017, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the Southeast Governors Forum convened in Enugu for what was presented as a peace summit by then-Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi.
What was the demand made by Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu? He called for justice, economic revitalisation, development, and adherence to the law. He called for the reopening and revitalisation of the seaports in Igweocha (Port Harcourt), Calabar, and Warri; the dredging of the River Niger; direct international flights from Europe and the United States into Enugu, Igweocha, and Calabar; the completion of the Second Niger Bridge; the upgrading of Owerri Airport into a functional cargo airport; functional railroads; dependable electricity; primary healthcare; and the revitalisation of abandoned heavy industries in order to restore productive capacity and generate meaningful jobs for the local youth and recent graduates.
“These requests, including the three seaports and river port on the River Niger at Onitsha/Asaba, were officially acknowledged by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
In addition, he called for investigations into the murders of IPOB members and supporters, respect for court rulings, and the release of prisoners such as Sambo Dasuki and Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. These included calls for employment, economic opportunity, industrialisation, productive infrastructure, justice, and lawful governance.
Then September 14, 2017, arrived. Onyendu’s residence in Afaraukwu, Umuahia, was overrun by the Nigerian military. To kill him, the soldiers went there. It didn’t work. Onyendu made it out alive. What transpired the following day? After the military invasion of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s house the day before failed to murder Onyendu, Dave Umahi said on September 15 that the Southeast Governors Forum has banned IPOB activities.
However, the very resolution that announced the proscription urged the people of the Southeast to continue abiding by the law, demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari remove the military from the region, and called for investigations into deaths and other illegal activity. The South-East’s insecurity is just getting started.
Thus, we enquire as to the precise location of the terrorism. Between the August 30 peace conference and the September 15 IPOB proscription, where was the terrorism? What terrorist acts by IPOB took place during that time?
IPOB claims that Igbo leaders need to explain how their demands for seaports, airports, railroads, electricity, industrialisation, youth employment, and healthcare turned into acts of terrorism.
“Where was the terrorism in calling for justice, following the law, and looking into murders? Where was the terrorism that served as justification for breaking into Onyendu’s house?
The statement went on, “And where was the evidence that turned a political movement making these demands into a terrorist organization?”
According to IPOB, the Nigerian military’s September 15, 2017, designation of the group as a terrorist organization was proof that Igbo politicians led by Umahi brought military terrorism and death to Igboland “because both Southeast governors and Nigerian Army worked as a team to bring death to Biafraland using proscription of IPOB as a cover.”
It further mentioned that on September 18, 2017, Bukola Saraki, the Senate President at the time, openly stated that the proscription by the Southeast Governors and the military’s designation of IPOB as a terrorist organization were both unlawful and violated due process.
IPOB emphasised, posing queries to the Nigerian government: “This is the question Nigeria must answer.” What took place in 2017 between August 30 and September 15? Why did a peace conference turn into a military assault? What turned calls for legitimate governance and economic growth become terrorism? What transpired between the decision to send troops against Onyendu and the need for seaports, airports, railroads, electricity, and industrialisation? What transpired between proscription and political participation?
IPOB urged the international community to review the documents of the peace conference and Kanu’s requests, as well as the military invasion on his residence and the proscription of the pro-Biafra group, and insisted that the government present its proof.
Additionally, it required a review of the legal processes that followed Kanu’s trial.