The newspapers for Monday, September 18, major on the federal government’s proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu.
The federal government has raised alarm over an alleged plot by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to engage in a massive campaign of publicising gory videos from the past and from other lands to create the impression before the public and the international community that its members are victims of state-sponsored violence, Guardian reports.
READ ALSO: Catholic priest blasts Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB
The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, raised the alarm on Sunday, September 17, at a press conference in Lagos.
The Guardian newspaper, Monday, September 18, photo credit: Snapshot from ZENITHBLOG.com
“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.
According to the Punch, the minister said the pro-Biafra group was being sponsored by politically-disgruntled individuals and treasury looters.
The Punch newspaper, Monday, September 18, photo credit: Snapshot from ZENITHBLOG.com
“IPOB is being sponsored by those I will call the coalition of the politically-disgruntled and the treasury looters. They believe that by sponsoring this group to destabilise the country and trigger chaos, they will realise their ambition of escaping justice and then be free to dip their hands into the nation’s treasury again.”
“The past few days have been a trying one for Nigeria with the activities of the so-called Indigenous People of Biafra reaching a crescendo and threatening the unity of our dear nation, Nigeria.
“A rag tag mob that calls itself IPOB and its gullible supporters felt they could seize a large swathe of the Nigerian territory, set up parallel military and para-military organisations, mount road blocks and even confront the Nigerian military. Their leader openly solicits weapons and incites hatred and violence.
“Some of the group’s atrocities have been well documented by the military, which has labelled IPOB a terrorist organisation. They include the formation of a Biafra Secret Service, claimed formation of Biafra National Guard, unauthorised blocking of public access roads; extortion of money from innocent civilians at illegal roadblocks, and possession and use of weapons (stones, molotov cocktails, machetes and broken bottles among others) on a military patrol on 10 September 2017,” the minister stated.
The Nation reports that Mohammed commended the southeast governors for proscribing IPOB, adding that the organisation, which has been labelled a terrorist group by the military, should cease to exist.
The Nation newspaper, Monday, September 18, photo credit: Snapshot from ZENITHBLOG.com
“IPOB is nothing but a contraption by those who believe they have lost political power as well as the right to loot our treasury. It is a tool in the hands of the corrupt and disgruntled elements to sabotage the Buhari administration.
“It fights for no one, but the corrupt and the disgruntled. It seeks to set us apart as a people, exploiting our fault lines. Its modus operandi is to trigger conflagration nationwide through attacks and reprisals,” he said.
The minister said the atrocities of the group which included setting up of parallel military and para-military organisations, mounting road blocks, confronting the military, openly soliciting for weapons and inciting hatred and violence was a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
He commended the military for its actions against the group, stating that Nigeria would have been on fire, if the soldiers had not risen to the occasion.
Meanwhile, workers under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) are set to join affiliates of the United Labour Congress of Nigeria (ULC) in an indefinite strike action.
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According to Vanguard, other groups which intend to join the strike include, the electricity workers, on the platform of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the National Union of Railway Workers.
The Vanguard newspaper, Monday, September 18, photo credit: Snapshot from ZENITHBLOG.com
But rival labour unions, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have opposed the proposed strike action on the grounds that the ULC was fake, since it was not recognized by government, and urged Nigerians to ignore the group.
Similarly, the federal ministry of Labour also held on to its earlier position that the ULC was not recognized by the federal government.
In another news reports, This Day states that the federal government through the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has set the guidelines for the marginal oil field bid round scheduled to take place later this year or early 2018 and could potentially see scores of investors jostling to acquire 46 oil acreages during the exercise.
The This Day newspaper, Monday, September 18, photo credit: Snapshot from ZENITHBLOG.com
The newspaper reports that of the 46 acreages up grabs the DPR is considering setting aside some of the oil blocks for discretionary award to firms owned by Niger Delta indigenes.
It was learnt that this move is geared at sustaining the prevalent peace in the oil-rich region and give its citizens a sense of ownership in Nigeria’s oil wealth.
In the video below, ZENITHBLOG.com TV asked people what effect they think the formation of the Biafra Security Service (BSS) will have on the quest for the actualization of Biafra.
Source: Zenithblog.com
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