IPOB not a terrorist group – IYC tells Nigerian military
– Nigerian military has been told to delist Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB from terrorist group profile
– The call was made the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)
– IYC urged the federal government to dialogue with IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has called on the Nigerian military to delist the IPOB group or any of its affiliate groups as “terrorist organisation”.
The IYC led by Comrade Roland Oweilaemi Pereotubo, made this call on Sunday, September 2017.
The group said the declaration of the group as a terrorists organisation is “Unconstitutional” as “it is targeted at ending right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
Pereotubor said this in a statement signed by his special assistant on Media, Comrade Alaowei Cleric.
He said dialogue was the only solution to the agitations by the Independent People of Biafra as well as militants in the Southeast and Niger delta region.
He said: There are no reported cases of IPOB members or any of their affiliate groups terrorising people in the South East. Even the alleged confrontation with the military, according to the former’s account is that the youths were merely armed with sticks, bottles and stones.”
“How on earth do such persons’ actions constitute threat to national security? The Fulani herdsmen that have massacred thousands of unarmed Nigerians across the country have not been declared terrorists.”
“Let the military collaborates with the relevant authorities to address the injustices against the South East and the south south regions.”
He also called on the Southeast governors to use their position to prevail on the Federal Government to address the issues of marginalization of the region.
“They should rather speak for the people whom they represent instead of cowardly joining the oppressors to continue sidelining the region from the scheme of things,” he said. Going further, he said: “The Government should also jettison its plan to rearrest Nnamdi Kanu. The only solution is to engage him in a dialogue, while the present Government retraces its steps towards the region.”
