President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki has declared as unconstitutional the actions by the South East governors and the Nigerian Defence headquarters against the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The governors of the south east region had proscribed the activities of the group, subsequently empowering the law enforcement agents to deal with anyone who takes part in any activities involving IPOB. The Defence headquarters had also earlier declared the group as a terrorist organization, soon after clashes with the group over its exercise tagged Operation Python Dance II. But Saraki in a statement on Monday stated that both groups (governors and the military) erred in their decisions, as they failed to follow due process. According to him, “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”. He pleaded for calm and restraint by all Nigerians so that a right solution to the problem could be found, rather than worsening the crisis. He said “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. “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. “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”. The Senate president while commending the military for what he described as their efforts in restoring peace to different parts of the country and sustaining the unity of the country, however cautioned that “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, given the nature of this particular situation, the military has every reason to be hesitant in the use of force. “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 National 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”, he stated. He added, 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”, Saraki assured.
*RipplesNigeria
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