By Seye Olumide (Lagos), Nnamdi Akpa (Abakaliki), Chido Okafor (Warri) and Gordi Udeajah (Umuahia)

• Urges western nations to disregard agitators
• Military operation not targeted at IPOB, say govs
• S’South group slams Igbo leaders over crisis

The minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has raised the alarm over attempts by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Mr. Nnamdi Kanu to externalise its struggle through propagandist writings to the governments and national parliaments of some western nations.According to the minister, the move is to give the impression that the IPOB members are victims of an ethno-sectarian violence orchestrated by the government, hence they need protection.

Mohammed said the activities of IPOB had become a great threat to the peaceful existence of the country and no government would allow such to continue. At a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, Mohammed urged the western world to discard such sentiments from IPOB. “This is a blatant lie and it was never in the agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to suppress its citizens for whatever reasons.”

The minister also alleged that IPOB, having been declared a terrorist group by the Nigeria Army and also proscribed by the Southeast governors, has also resolved to engage in a massive harvesting of gory videos from the distant past and from other lands to hoodwink the public, and in particular the international community, into believing that its (IPOB) members are victims of state-sponsored violence.

“Such videos, which have very high emotive quotient, are circulating on the social media. We call on all to subject all such videos to the greatest scrutiny so as not to be misled. In particular, we urge the international community not to jump to any conclusion on the basis of such videos,” he said.

Recalling the devastation of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that left about 800,000 people dead and the role the media played in the incident, the minister appealed to the Nigerian media to show greater restraint at this time.

“The reporting of the IPOB issues, especially since the military deployment in the south-east for its exercise, tagged Operation Python Dance II, has been sensationalised by a section of the media. The divisive and jaundiced opinions of some anarchists have been given a big play by a section of the media. This is wrong.

“As I have always said, the Nigerian media cannot afford to sit on the fence or engage in irresponsible journalism when the issue at stake is the very survival of our nation. This is because no professionals, including journalists, can operate when a nation descends into anarchy.“We must not, deliberately or otherwise, strengthen the hands of those who are bent on destroying our nation. Opinion leaders must also moderate their interventions in order not to aggravate the situation on ground.”

In another reaction to the IPOB’s activities, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Bernard Mikko decried Kanu’s approach to achieve his objectives.

“Violence or confrontation with the security agents is never the best approach,” he said.Mikko, who is also the spokesman of the defunct Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, said it was also wrong for the military to have on its own labeled IPOB a terrorist group as such a pronouncement should rather have been made by either the Minister of Defence, the National Security Adviser (NSA) or any political appointee on behalf of the president.

According to Mikko in an interview with The Guardian yesterday, while a peaceful protest is within civilised democratic norms, a violent agitation and resort to apparent self-help as witnessed by IPOB is criminal and undemocratic. He urged Kanu to channel his agitation appropriately instead of disturbing the peace of the country and the people.

Read more: http://guardian.ng/news/fg-alleges-bid-to-externalise-pro-biafra-struggle/


AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS

Are they scared? Why?

Gradually the chicken is coming home to roost.This second mistake will end up being worse than the first that Buhari made in arresting him.

The first political causalities will be the foolish south east governors.

The Buhari govt is actually everything a govt shouldn't be . Truth be told

Everything is like a comedy series now...

Buhari can send "python dance" all over the world. Hahahaha

niceprof:
Gradually the chicken is coming home to roost.This second mistake will end up being worse than the first that Buhari made in arresting him.

The first political causalities will be the foolish south east governors.

sure even if you are not in support of Ipob why not condemn the killing