By Gabriel Atumeyi
The Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, Southeast zone has raised the alarm over the presence of Military personnel of the Nigerian Army at Orlu, which it said if not delicately managed would escalate the security and human rights situation in Imo state and the South East region.
It said the people are being crushed under the weight of the occupation and the leadership of the region has failed to adequately gauge the pulse of the people.
365Daily reports that Governor Uzodinma on Friday, revealed that he invited soldiers in Orlu to restore calm in the area after members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), killed several policemen and innocent citizens in the area.
According to the governor, the government discovered that there were deliberate attempts by IPOB to attack Orlu people and the government in the guise that they were looking for Fulani herdsmen.
Orlu has of lately been the center of clashes between the Nigerian military and members of the IPOB backed Eastern Security Network (ESN).
In a statement by its Chairman, Comrade Aloysius Attah, the silence of conspiracy by governors of the Southeast region is a testament of the disconnect between the government and the governed, and that by inviting the military, Governor Hope Uzodinma has shown himself a stooge of Northern power.
“The military invasion and occupation of Orlu and some parts of the southeast in the name of wiping out the Eastern Security Network, a vigilante arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra is a time bomb tickling to explode with serious consequences and negative implications.
“The militarization of Igbo land when no part of the zone is at war either with itself or their neighbours has long term consequences which if not nipped in the bud now will most likely swallow many with its attendant casualties .
“The owning up of Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State of his tacit approval for such unwarranted military operation is a clear sign of a leader who doesn’t feel the pulse of his people to know their feelings and needs. It also smacks of a foisted leader who came to deal with his people instead of leading them and attending to their welfare.
“Since this unfortunate military operation, several casualties have been recorded while the people whose places have been invaded with military hardware, weapons and men have been traumatized on daily basis.
“The silence of the governors of the states in the southeast geopolitical zone is not only condemnable but goes a long way to prove the disconnect between them and the people who actually hold the sovereignty of the offices they occupy and the input legitimacy from which their government derives acceptability and powers to govern.
“We are incensed over the recent parade of a so called 20 (16 male and 4 females) suspects said to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) arrested by troops under 82 Division Nigerian Army , Enugu.
“The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col Aliyu Yusuf, who fell short of labeling the paraded persons as ‘terrorists said “The activities of the threat elements have led to an increase in organized crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping and other sundry criminal violent acts. Recently, there have been various attacks on civilians, Police and military personnel on check points and escort duty”.
“Anyone who saw the images of the paraded suspects doesn’t need any forensic expert to decipher that some innocent people have been arrested and labeled threat elements just to prove that the army is working.
“It is such kind of summary labeling that breeds monsters in normal human beings. Without holding brief for the IPOB , its leadership and their mode of operations, we dare say that it is the Nigerian military and security agents that have toughened some of the pro Biafra agitators from their non violent stance to armed protection.
The statement further disclosed that the region has suffered under President Muhammadu Buhari and his handling of the herdsmen situation and the incarceration of unarmed members of IPOB who are merely demanding for self determination.
“The Nigerian situation under President Muhammadu Buhari has elevated sectionalism, partiality and selective justice into a state-art.
“A government that negotiates with bandits, treats killer herders as untouchables but brands Igbo self determination group as terrorists and proscribed, can only breed violence and accompanied state-sponsored repression.
“Crying for vengeance and justice are the blood of the innocent, defenceless , non –armed pro-Biafra agitators killed in the last six years of the Buhari presidency across the five states of the southeast and the recent blood spill, serial rape, abduction and forced disappearances of Obigbo residents in Rivers State.
“Many communities in the southeast are at the mercy of Fulani herders who pillage their farms, rape their women, kill their men and strangulate any uncooperative female but the governors in order not to incur the wrath of President Buhari, maintains a conspiracy of silence.
“They do all within their power to suppress any information of attacks of this nature while they pamper the herders and even pay for any loss on their cattle. They cannot also stamp their feet to implement their verbal ban on open grazing while their citizens live like conquered people in their own communities.
The CLO said it was time for the military to withdraw from the region and halt the constitutional breach and release of suspects held by the military for the recent attacks on the military.
“We therefore say no to further military occupation in Orlu and other parts of the southeast. No more killings and terrifying the people with military jets and armaments.
“The constitutional roles of the military as enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria sections 217-220 has not changed. Enough of all these breaches!
“We call for the unconditional release of the paraded suspects arrested by the military while government should commence immediate confidence building approaches and rehabilitation of the traumatized people of the affected areas.
The statement also denounced criminalities against constituted authorities in the state, saying the state is bedevilled by youth unemployment which can only be resolved by concerted government and stakeholders collaboration.
“We also condemn the recent resort to organized crime, burning of police stations, killing of police personnel and carting away police rifles and armoury in some parts of southeast. This trend if left unchecked portends grave danger to the society and the citizenry.
“Many of our youths are taking the wrong way and serious concerted efforts must be made to recover, rehabilitate and engage them into meaningful causes.
“Our Governors and political leaders must rise up to their responsibilities knowing again for the umpteenth time that power belongs to the people.
“The same people have endured for so long and may be forced to revolt someday when the pushing comes to shoving.