Presidency justifies Kanu’s arrest, invasion of Igboho’s House

The Presidency, on Tuesday labeled the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Igboho as terrorists and militants.

The presidency also justified Kanu’s arrest and the invasion of the Soka, Ibadan residence of Igboho, saying they have been making life difficult for Nigerians.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba stated this in a statement on Tuesday, adding that though the Buhari-led administration respects the right of citizens to freely express their views and opinions, it “would not allow the fundamental human right to freely express personal or regional views to be abused to the extent of sabotaging the unity of the country.”

The Presidency also commended security and intelligence forces for their recent deft operations, which culminated in the arrest and extradition of Kanu, and the bursting of the ‘armoury’ of Igboho.

The statement read: “Last week, we saw the enhanced collaboration of the Nigerian Law Enforcement Agencies, as they executed with great synchronization, arrests of individuals who had inflicted pain and hardships on fellow citizens.

“The subversive leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group known for its murderous actions and virulent messaging was detained as a result of cross-border cooperation.

“This international operation was executed in a closely coordinated fashion following which he was handed over to our National Intelligence Agency, and then returned to Nigeria to face the Law.

“The violence inspired by IPOB has led to hundreds of fatalities, particularly targeted at government assets and law enforcement agents.

“Additionally, there have been at last count, fifty (55) separate violent attacks, heavily concentrated in the South-East, which heaped further hardship on our honest and hardworking citizens, preventing them from earning their livelihood and going about their normal lives.

“The government had long been monitoring the activities of IPOB and had strong cause to believe that their funding sources include proceeds of suspected illicit criminal activities.

“By this singular action of our security forces, sanity, calm and peace have been returned to our communities who previously lived in constant fear of these misguided elements.

“In furtherance of continued diligent work, the State Security Service on Thursday, 1st July, raided the residence of a militant ethnic secessionist, who has also been conducting acts of terror and disturbing the peace under the guise of protecting fellow “kinsmen”.

“His seditious utterances and antics, which he is known to have publicly expressed, have over time morphed into very hateful and vile laden speeches.

“It must be highlighted that the government respects fundamental rights of citizens to express their views and recognizes this as a democratic tenet.

“However, any attempt to build an armory, coupled with plans either subtle or expressed, to undermine our unity as a nation will not be condoned.”