Senate President Bukola Saraki has described the proscription of Nnamdi Kanu’s Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by South-East governors and the categorisation of the group as a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian military as “unconstitutional.”
“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 is unconstitutional and does not follow due process,” Saraki said in a statement on Monday.
The statement which he personally signed, the Senate President said “Our laws make clear provisions for taking such actions and without the due process being followed, such declaration cannot have effect” and was hopeful that “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.”
Despite taking a parallel stance from the military’s on the matter, Saraki commended their efforts in restoring peace to difference parts of the country. He however cautioned that “in the face of provocation, the military should allow themselves to be guided by their training which emphasises 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.”
The Military had on September 15, declared the IPOB a terrorist organisation, following series of clashes between the Army and members of the group in the preceding days in Umuahia,. Few hours after, the South-East governors in a follow-up to the military’s declaration, proscribed the activities of the group across the geo-political zone.
Meanwhile, Saraki has given assurances that the National Assembly will investigate “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,” he said.
