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Military Won’t Declare Kanu Wanted – DHQ
The Defence Headquarters says it has no business declaring the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu wanted.
At a briefing with journalists, last Friday, in Abuja, the DHQ stated that Kanu was not in military custody and so they couldn’t be held accountable for him.
The Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, who made the statement, also claimed that the military did not raid Kanu’s residence.
He said, “Kanu is not in the custody of the military. It is not the responsibility of the DHQ to declare him wanted.
“If the court says that if he does not show up for hearing, it will hold the military responsible, (then) let us wait till that time.
“The military never raided Kanu’s house. I watched the whole operation live on that day. Even I don’t have any right to stop you while passing on a public route. I saw that the Biafran Security Service and the Biafran National Guards mounted roadblocks, and the soldiers came out peacefully and said, ‘Boys, let us pass’. But the Biafrans attempted to collect their guns. Nobody went to Kanu’s house or raided him or took him away.”
On the proscription of IPOB, the defence spokesperson said that the military was not involved in the process.
He said, “The statement of the DHQ on IPOB’s activities is not opposed to what the army chief came out to say. Did we say IPOB was proscribed? No. But some people had a mindset and were in a hurry to attack the military.
“The military did not proscribe IPOB; due process was followed before the proscription. What the military did was to diagnose the security elements and warn of consequences. The military also knows the law.”
Enenche said that the military deployment in states all over the country was to complement the efforts of other security agencies.
He said, “The armed forces of Nigeria are not alarmed by the fear which some expressed that troops are deployed all over the country. The military see and analyse differently, while people see and analyse differently.
“It is the military that can tell you the signs and symptoms of a security element. Other countries passed through what we are passing through before they got to their present developed state.
“For days before Operation Python Dance II started, there were fears, not caused by the military, but by the propaganda of some persons.”
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has asked the Federal Government to clarify the status and whereabouts of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The British government said it had asked the government if the British national was alive or dead.
However, it could not be immediately ascertained if the Federal Government had responded to the inquiries or not.
The Press Officer, UK High Commission in Nigeria, Joe Abuku, stated that the inquiry followed reports that Kanu had been missing since September 14, 2017, when armed soldiers stormed his residence in Abia State.
Abuku said this in response to questions from newsmen seeking to know UK’s concern on the missing IPOB leader.
“We are seeking urgent clarification from the Nigerian authorities about the status and whereabouts of Mr. Kanu, a British-Nigerian man, who has been reported missing since September 14,” Abuku stated.
Asked if the UK would strip Kanu of citizenship on account of the declaration by Nigeria that he was leading a terrorist organisation, the mission said it does not comment on individual cases.
“One of the conditions that can make the United Kingdom strip its citizen of nationality is if the person engages in a terrorist activity at home or abroad. And Kanu has dual citizenship and therefore a citizen of Nigeria and the UK,” the mission stated.
When asked if the UK supported the Nigerian government’s proscription of the IPOB, Abuku stated that the group was not a proscribed organisation under the British law.
“The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a proscribed organisation in the UK,” the mission spokesperson stressed.
However, when asked if the group was free to raise funds or hold rallies in Britain, Abuku said he would need to get an official response on that, but subsequently declined to respond to the question.
He also declined comment on whether the IPOB might be designated as a terrorist group or proscribed by the British authorities.
Abuku said, “We do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription. A decision to proscribe an organisation must be based on a belief that it is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, and it must be proportionate.”
The United States had earlier said it did not consider IPOB a terrorist group and urged Nigerians to de-escalate tension and embrace peaceful resolution of grievances.
Spokesperson for the American Embassy in Nigeria, Russell Brooks, had said, “Within the context of unity, we encourage all Nigerians to support a de-escalation of tension and peaceful resolution of grievances. The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a terrorist organisation under US law.”
Niger Delta ex-agitator Endurance Amagbein has cautioned the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, against politicising the plight of the Niger Delta people over issues surrounding renewal of pipeline surveillance contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.
In a statement on Saturday, Amagbein condemned IYC leaders who took a protest to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, demanding the sack of Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited.
The IYC had claimed that the protest was due to non-performance, financial mismanagement and other allegations, but Amagbein refuted the claims.
Amagbein accused the IYC of derailing from its core mandate and delving into partisan oil surveillance politics.
“Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil); Dr Samuel Ogbuku, MD/CEO of NDDC; and Chief Dennis Otuaru, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, are all Ijaw people, but sadly, nobody remembers this to thank Mr President.”
“It is so said that oil politics in the Niger Delta has infiltrated into the affairs of the IYC, and its leaders have allowed surveillance contractors to direct policy statements of the youth body.”
The Tide source reports that Ojulari had said NNPCL is under attack over his leadership stance.
The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has begged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying that his reforms and initiatives would in no distant time transform the nation’s economy, security and social landscape.
The Akwa Ibom State Director of NOA, Mkpoutom Mkpoutom, made the appeal in Uyo at the weekend during a sensitization programme organized by the Federal Information Center with focus on the milestones of Tinubu’s administration.
Mkpoutom, who was represented by Mrs Atim Otoyo, Deputy Director Planning, Research and Strategy, recalled that Tinubu on assumption of office on May 29, 2023, had embarked on ambitious reforms and initiatives that would better the lives of Nigerians.
He said the President’s focus is on revitalizing Nigeria’s economy by swiftly addressing the fuel subsidy crisis that had long plagued the nation’s finances.
According to him, by removing fuel subsidies, resources are now reallocated towards critical areas such as infrastructure and social welfare programs.
“This bold decision, although met with public discontent due to rising fuel prices, was a necessary step towards fiscal responsibility,” he said.
Mkpoutom also stated that security remains a paramount concern in Nigeria, stressing that Tinubu’s administration has prioritized the issue since the onset of his administration.
“His administration has focused on strengthening the military and security agencies to combat terrorism, banditry and separatist movements. This includes boosting funding for the Armed Forces and implementing community policing strategies to foster better relationships between law enforcement agencies and local communities.
“President Tinubu’s administration has championed various projects aimed at improving transportation networks, electricity supply, and public amenities as well as initiating programs to create technological hubs to promote digital literacy among young Nigerians,” the NOA official said.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Kayode Opeifa, has apologised to the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Federal Capital Territory Chapter, over his assault on its member and a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Ladi Bala.
Opeifa apologized at a press conference at the NUJ FCT secretariat in Abuja on Sunday.
The apology comes after NUJ FCT condemned the unwholesome treatment meted out to its members who were covering the recent Abuja-Kaduna train derailment incident.
The NUJ demanded a public apology from Opeifa over the incident.
In his apology on Sunday, Opeifa said he was carried away in the heat of the moment.
“I wish to offer my apology for the regrettable remarks I made, which were not only directed at a seasoned journalist but also reflected unfavourably on the NUJ FCT and the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ.
“Acting in the heat of the moment under pressure, and in my attempt to ensure safety, I made certain unkind statements. For this, I take full responsibility, and I am sorry.”
Chairman of NUJ FCT, Grace Ike, had called for calm among journalists over the incident.
Recall that six passengers were injured after the Abuja-Kaduna rail derailed in Jere on Tuesday.