PRESS RELEASE BY FOUNDATION FOR PEACE PROFESSIONAL (FPP) ON RECENT TENSION IN THE SOUTH EAST REGION OVER MILITARY DEPLOYMENT

The current tension in some parts of the country, particularly in the South East region is a source of major concern for the Foundation for Peace Professionals (FPP) and we prevail on all Nigerians to give peace a chance.

Foundation for Peace Professionals is not unaware of the deployment of military personnel to the South East region and the subsequent confrontation with secessionist agitators, which reports claimed have led to some ugly incidents of torture and rights violation, but we have cause to advise all peace loving Nigerians to remain calm and support the military to carry out their lawful duty peacefully.

We must state that, the Nigerian Army do not have the right to deprive any citizen of their lives at the slightest provocation because they only exist to protect lives and properties of the Nigerian people, but equally, agitators do not have the right to undermine the army no matter their grievances. All agitation is expected to be conducted peacefully and lawfully with utmost respect to the laws of the land.

Agitators should be made to understand that, preventing an Army contingent on lawful national duty from passing through, openly confronting and threatening the soldiers with violence, stoning them with bottles among others dangerous objects is not within the right of any citizen, but army must be cautioned to carry out their duty with utmost restrain, as their only responsibility is to protect, not to destroy human lives and properties within the nation.

We hereby urge the Nigerian Army to carry out their duty without infringing on the rights of any law abiding citizen to guarantee peace.

In recent time, the ugly news coming out from the South East region as a result of secessionist agitators is not encouraging. Foundation for Peace Professionals (FPP) had in the past few months received several reports about acts of lawlessness taking place due to the ongoing agitation. We have also received reports of agitator’s intimidation, assault and some times brutalization of innocent citizens, whose only offense is their disagreement with the agitators.

From what we understand about happenings in the region before the deployment of the military, agitators have stepped beyond the bond of self expression, to what can simply be described as suppression of civil rights of other law abiding citizens.

Furthermore, the police authorities in the region seems to have lost control, to an extent that they watch without action, if the suppression of other citizen’s rights by the agitators will not lead to break out of further confrontation.

The situation ensures that agitators, who claimed to seek freedom, are themselves depriving other citizens their freedom of thoughts, movement and expression as contained in the Nigerian constitution. The agitators claimed to be seeking rights to self determination, but engaged in forceful deprivation of the rights of other citizens who disagrees with them; this is not the right thing to do.

The continuation of such practice over time, without due check by the authorities has given agitators false sense of superiority and imaginary confidence of force, which they exercise on other citizens in the region.

The problem with this practice is that, sooner or later, the suppression of citizens right by the agitators will metamorphosed into complete suppression of lawful authorities and state apparatus will be rendered powerless as a result of organized open confrontation that will emerge, which may lead to greater challenges of insecurity.

Foundation for Peace Professionals (FPP) is of the views that, whether now or later, the federal government must as a matter of necessity, look into this forced suppression of a people to concur with an agitation they do not subscribe to, but this should be done with wisdom and cooperation of the leadership of the region. Forcing those who disagrees with the agitators into silence through act of terror is not a practice to be supported.

We understand that the realization of the grave implication of the situation was one of the reasons that warranted the deployment of military personnel to the region, which is not really desirable, but necessary. FPP also understands that the military operation was not intended to militarize or intimidate the people, but to restore public confidence, guarantee safety, send a message to the perpetrators of forced suppression and provide an enabling environment for all citizens to carry on with their lawful activities as guaranteed in the Nigerian Constitution.
However, the false sense of superiority and claim of confidence of force that had been gained over time by the agitators without check by any authority ensures that the agitators confronted a passing by military armored personnel carrier (APC).

Rather than for the leadership of the agitation to call its members to order, they instead continued to mobilize more members to confront the army on a national duty. This is highly regrettable.

It must be noted however that, the confrontation of a passing by military vehicle by angry agitators, underscores the necessity of a prompt action to curtail the excesses of the agitators’ activities. This is so because, if agitators could confront a passing by military vehicle on lawful national duty, we can only imagine what they have been doing with the police authorities and other citizens who disagree with them.

Additionally, we understand the argument of some section of the public who are of the view that the military officers should not have reacted to whatever provocation from the agitators which is the most desirable response, but if wisdom prevails, citizens would not throw bottles and stones to an army contingent passing by, because the soldier too are humans. The same anger that may have instigated agitators to repeatedly throw stones and bottles to soldiers, may also instigate the soldiers to respond, especially when those who confronted them far out numbered them and are unrelenting in obstructing the duty.

No doubt, agitation is a legal instrument to express views about certain ideals in a democratic setting, but if groups are to agitate for any issue of interest, they have to follow the lay down procedure in doing so.

It is also important to further state that, agitators’ lawlessness is more of a threat to the South East region, than to the country as a whole. This is why the leadership of the South East region must not seek personal comfort at the expense of break down of law and order.

In view of this, we state without fear of contradiction that, no human hold the right to take the live of any human without recourse to justice, whether provoked or not, military or not, agitators or not.

We state in firm terms that the army doesn’t have the right to violet or kill any citizen, even when on lawful duty, unless such citizen commit similar act or put the lives of others in danger.
We urge all citizens in the region to be law abiding and subject themselves to constituted authorities. We also call on the agitators to understand that being lawless and denying other people their rights is not a right they enjoy under any known law and therefore, they should conduct their agitation in the most peaceful and civilized manner that will gain them the respect of observers.

We call on all Nigerians, particularly the aggrieved people to remain peaceful in every part of the country and not recourse to the emotional call of anger, even when provoked to do so.
Peace is better than war. Law is better than force. Unity is better than division.

We call on the Federal Government and army authorities to exercise some restrain and enure soldiers comply strictly to the rules of engagement, as well as conduct themselves with utmost professionalism.

Abdulrazaq O Hamzat
Executive Director
Foundation for Peace professionals
www.fpp.com.ng
07066479760