S/East senatorial caucus disagrees with FG for labeling IPOB as a terrorist group - Abaribe
- The federal government has been chided by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe for designating the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra as a terrorist group
- Abaribe stated that the government’s action was tantamount to killing a fly with a sledgehammer and stated that senators from the southeast caucus disagreed with the decision
- He chided the government for ignoring groups that were actually working against the unity of Nigeria, groups that were killing people and choosing rather to go after IPOB
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia South), has chided the federal government for designating the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist group, New Telegraph reports.
Abaribe was one of the individuals who stood as surety for bail for the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, who has since gone missing.
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Legit.ng notes that the senator insisted that the government was wrong to label IPOB as a terrorist movement and stated that senators from the southeast would not agree with the decree.
Abaribe made his comments on an Aba radio programme on Thursday, September 28.
He stated: “The Southeast Senate Caucus disagree with the Nigerian government in saying that IPOB is a terrorist organisation.
"We feel it is too strong a gambit to use. We feel that you cannot kill a fly with a sledge-hammer.
"You cannot proscribe a group of people; you cannot leave glaring evidence of those who actually work against the unity of this country, those who are actually killing people, those who are actually taken up arms against this country and then you turn around and say that these people have a potential to do so, therefore you now go ahead to declare them a terrorist organization with the implications for this country that are very glaring.”
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe was queried by his colleagues, mostly from the northern part of the country, for standing as surety for IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The heated meeting reportedly took place when the Senate went into an executive session, minutes after resumption.
Reacting to the report, Abaribe denied that he was queried by the Senate for standing surety for Kanu.
He said what was discussed at the Senate on the matter was private and no newspaper has the information. He faulted a newspaper, Daily Trust, for misleading the public with a headline that claims he was queried by the northern senators for standing surety for Kanu.
Watch this Legit.ng TV video asking Nigerians if the struggle for Biafra ends with the dissolution of IPOB:
Source: Legit.ng
