FEMI Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation has condemned the violence between members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and security operatives on Sunday in Eneme, Enugu State.
“I deplore and condemn the slaughter of young IPOB members in Enugu yesterday by the Federal Government-controlled security forces,” Fani-Kayode said in a statement on Facebook.
“Butchering innocent and defenceless young people who were not carrying arms simply because they were having a meeting does not make sense and does not help matters.”
He noted that using state force on people agitating for their rights will “strengthen their cause, hardens their hearts, emboldens their resolve, legitimises their struggle and wins them sympathy and new friends all over the world.”
“It is also a crime against humanity and those that carry out such murderous operations and dole out such orders become automatic candidates for the International Criminal Court at the Hague.
“Repression fuels the struggle for liberation and freedom rather than stifle it. The more IPOB youths are killed the more their ranks will swell,” the former minister said.
Fani-Kayode who has been critical of the current Federal Government and also a sympathiser of the IPOB called on the Government to stop violence against its own citizens and to become more tolerant with its people.
“I call on the Buhari administration to stop this open display of sociopathic madness and gratuitous violence against its own citizens and to be more tolerant, accommodating and restrained,” he said.
“I call for a cessation of hostilities and state-sponsored violence and for the Federal Government to lift the ban on IPOB and enter into negotiations with them before it is too late.
“We must build bridges and not burn them. We must have the courage to talk to those who we may disagree with but who genuinely feel hurt and aggrieved and bring them back to the table.
“We must find a more civilised and humane way to resolve our differences.”
Fani-Kayode also called on IPOB members to adopt a more peaceful way to channel their grievances and avoid every form of violence.
“Permit me to add the following. If it is true that two DSS operatives were killed or abducted by IPOB then I condemn that as well,” he said.
“There is NOTHING to be gained in shedding blood and the killing of security operatives is not only morally reprehensible but will also lead to more violence and oppression.
“The resistance to tyranny and injustice must be peaceful and passive. That is the ONLY way forward. That is the moral path and it is the only one that ought to be taken.”
More than 20 people were reportedly dead from the violence that ensued between IPOB members and the Nigerian security operatives.
According to media reports, trouble started when security operatives tried to stop and arrest members of the group from holding a meeting in one of the secondary schools in Eneme.
The State Security Service (SSS) in a statement by Peter Afunanya, its spokesperson, Sunday evening claimed that two of its members were killed in an unprovoked attack.
Afunanya added that measures had been put in place to ensure that those involved in the killing of the operatives are promptly apprehended and brought to justice.
“The DSS wishes to inform the public that its patrol team was, today, 23rd August, 2020, attacked in Emene, Enugu State by members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).”
“The Service lost two personnel in what was clearly an unprovoked violent attack launched by IPOB on the team. The Service hereby condoles with families of the departed officers and also prays for the repose of their souls.”
“However, all measures have been put in place to ensure that their killers and everyone involved in this dastardly act are promptly apprehended and brought to justice. Consequently, a full-scale investigation will be carried out with regard to the incident,” he said.
However, in a statement on Monday morning, Fani-Kayode said killing defenseless young men who were having a meeting does not make sense as such action constitutes a crime against humanity.
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