South East peace building group has accused the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra,IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,of inciting the region against the Nigerian state. To this end,the group under the umbrella of Coalition of South East Peace Practitioners, SOEAPAT, has called on leaders of the region to caution Kanu,saying his actions were detrimental to the unity of the country as well as endangering the lives and investments of hardworking and peaceful igbos across the nation.
The group, in a statement in Abuja, Friday morning, expressed worries over what it called the repeated inciting utterances of Kanu, insisting that his actions threatens national security. It appealed to Igbo youths not to take the statements by Kanu seriously considering that he was issuing them from outside the country where he and his family would not feel the impact in the event of any consequence. SOEAPAT,in the statement signed by its Zonal Chairman, Dr Obi Chibuzor and Legal Adviser, Barrister Amadi Ojukwu, also condemned the ongoing destruction of properties following the #EndSARS protests across the country even as it decried the killings of unarmed protesters allegedly by agents of security services. SOEAPAT said it appealed to “all Indigbo worldwide to quickly begin to speak to some of our deviant youths to back down on their grievances before we are misconstrued as trouble makers when in the actual sense we are the victims in Nigeria.”
“We stand here to state categorically that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a criminal that must not be taken seriously. He is out to achieve popularity and make money for himself as against the freedom fighter he is claiming,” it said. It vehemently condemned the use of excessive force against the #EndSARS protesters at Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, The full statement read: “We have watched with great concern the event that preceded the Lekki Tollgate shooting of innocents protesters by men of the Nigeria Army on Tuesday. “This act is quite unprofessional, condemnable and regrettable. We call for urgent independent investigation to ascertain the motive and persons behind this act. Our heart are with all the families of those who lost their lives and those injured.
“We call on the federal and state governments to immediately take up the medical bills of the injured victims and compensate families who lost their love once where necessary. “We wish to wholeheartedly condemn the senseless destruction of properties by some criminal elements who hijacked the protests by genuine protesters demanding for an end to SARS and police brutality and better life. “This destruction is uncalled for and the most costly mistake made by these criminal elements in the 21st century. “Almost every property that was destroyed will severely and negatively affect the livelihood of the masses they claim to be fighting for.
So why the destruction? “If you are complaining of under development and bad governance, why then do you destroy properties and loot banks and business premises? “This is so sad! Nigerian youths of good conscience must rise in unison and resist these criminals who are out to give the youths a bad name. It is will take sometime for the people to recover from this great loss in the mist the global pandemic. “We want to also call on all Indigbo worldwide to quickly begin to speak to some of our deviant youths to back down on their grievances before we are misconstrued as trouble makers when in the actual sense we are the victims. “We stand here to state categorically that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a criminal that must not be taken seriously. He is out to achieve popularity. While we must clearly state that our people have not been treated fairly in the past on so many national issues we must call for calm and understanding while we press our demands through legal means.
