Biafra Day: Senate declines debate on killing

Amid public outcry against the military and police kill­ing of agitators on Mon­day during processions to mark the 49th anniversary of the decla­ration of Biafra Republic, the Sen­ate has failed to entertain any de­bate on the massacre.

Media reports indicate that over 50 pro-Biafra protesters, three policemen and a soldier were killed on Monday in clashes between the security agents and the agitators in some South East and South-South states.

When the matter was tabled before the Senate on Tuesday by the Deputy Senate President, Sen­ator Ike Ekweremadu, the Upper House refrained from discussing it.

Ekweremadu had condemned the security agents’ handling of the protests and urged them to apply caution in quelling such crises.

Acting under Order 43 of Sen­ate Rules, Ekweremadu had drawn the Senate’s attention to the blood­bath in the South East and South-South on Monday.

He said: “If you go through many newspapers this morning, the leading headlines refer to the death of many people both young men and security agents. I will like to use this opportunity under Order 43 to say that the security agents must apply caution in try­ing to quell disturbances.

“We have had so much of bloodbath in this country under different circumstances and we cannot continue to lose young men and women because the fu­ture of this country belongs to them.

“It is important that this Sen­ate rises to condemn any act of killing in any part of this country, especially with the one that con­cerns the major part of our future which remains the young men and women of this country,” he said.

According to him, “as a dem­ocratic nation, the people must be allowed to express their views in any form they choose without nec­essarily infringing on the freedom of others and that security agen­cies must be cautious in the way and manner they handle distur­bances without applying meas­ures that could lead to the loss of life and property.”

In his response to the mo­tion, the Senate President Abuba­kar Bukola Saraki, who presided over the plenary, condemned the incident but tactically refused to allow any debate on it.

He said: “Distinguished col­leagues, the Deputy Senate Presi­dent brought this to my attention in line with our rules on Order 43 on this unfortunate incident that has happened and as regards our rules, there cannot be any debate on it.

“But, I think that the point he has raised was to draw our atten­tion and see what necessary action will be taken in other to address this matter,” Saraki concluded.

Meanwhile, 88 members of the Movement for the Actualisa­tion of the Sovereign State of Bia­fra (MASSOB) who were arrested by the Ebonyi State Police Com­mand, Abakaliki on Monday, have been granted bail by a Magistrate Court.

After the charges were read to them, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty.

Their lead counsel, Mr. Jerry Ezenyi made an application for their bail, saying that their offence was bailable.

In his own argument, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Adeo­la Elumaru, opposed the bail ap­plication, saying that the accused persons had been arrested in the past for the same offence.

In her ruling, the Magistrate, Mrs. Stella Ogoke granted the ac­cused bail with N500,000 and sev­en sureties who must be within the magisterial jurisdiction.

She said the sureties must be civil servants or businessmen and adjourned the matter till July, 18, 2016 for definite hearing.

The police command had at Nkaliki Primary School, Abaka­liki Local Government Area, arrested about 92 members of MASSOB at a prayer session to commemorate the 2016 Biafra Day.

In Enugu State, the Crimi­nal Intelligence and Investigations Department of the police com­mand arraigned 13 members of MASSOB/Biafran Independence Movement (BIM) before Enugu North Magistrate Court.

They were brought to Court 6 headed by Magistrate E.N. Aluk­wu for belonging to an unlawful society called MASSOB.

The State Command Po­lice Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu said they were arrested at Obiagu/Edinburgh axis of Enugu metropolis for un­lawful procession under the aegis of Biafra and thereby committed an offence punishable under Sec­tion 495(a) of the Criminal Code Cap 30 Vol.11 Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges while Magis­trate E.N. Alukwu adjourned the case till June 23, 2016 for hearing.

IGP orders ‘disarming’ of IPOB members

In his first public reaction to the Biafra Day violence, the In­spector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase has declared that the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has crossed the threshold in what he described as their misguided attempt to test the common will of the country.

The IGP, therefore, directed the Assistant Inspectors-Gener­al (AIGs) of Police and the Com­missioners of Police (CP) in the affected area to disarm members of the group using firearms, im­mediately.

Meanwhile, normalcy has returned to Onitsha and its envi­rons in Anambra State after Mon­day’s violence which disrupted business in the town.

In a chat with The AUTHOR­ITY, the Chairman of the Onit­sha Main Market Traders Union, Chief Chidozie Okeke said it was “a black day for the people of An­ambra in general and traders in Onitsha in particular.”