Following
the clash between the military and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB), I hereby call for calm and restraint by all Nigerians so that we would
all jointly find the right solution to the current problem rather than worsening
the crisis.
Our brothers
and sisters in the South-east, in particular, should continue to maintain peace
and tranquillity 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.
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 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.
We must
commend the military for their efforts in restoring peace to different parts of
the country and sustaining the unity of the country. However, 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, giving
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 aNational 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.
I want to also make it clear 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.
On a long
term, we want to remind Nigerians that the reason for embarking on constitution
review by the National Assembly was to enable us look into issues that are
agitating the minds of Nigerians and creating tension among us. We have
promised that the exercise would be continuous. We intend to keep that promise
by further taking decisions that would strengthen and improve on our
structures. The Eighth National Assembly, on resumption, will play its
constitutional role by addressing all those issues that are agitating the minds
of our people and over which they feel so strong. I appeal to all our people to
always direct their grievances to the right channels.
Let me
further reiterate the need for all leaders of thought -political. religious and
traditional- to continue to engage with our people on the need to maintain
peace and be our brothers’ keepers.
Signed
Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
President of the Senate
September 18, 2017