President Muhammadu Buhari has applauded the collaboration between security agencies on the operations against separationists, Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement, said the operations were done with great synchronisation leading to the arrests of individuals who had inflicted pain and hardships on fellow citizens. He said Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leaders were known for murderous actions and virulent messaging.

“There have been at last count 50 separate violent attacks, heavily concentrated in the South-East, which heaped further hardship on our honest and hardworking citizens, preventing them from earning their livelihood and going about their normal lives.”

Shehu confirmed that the government had been monitoring activities of IPOB and had strong cause to believe that their funding sources include proceeds of suspected illicit criminal activities.

The statement hailed the raid of the residence of Igboho, “who has also been conducting acts of terror and disturbing the peace under the guise of protecting fellow kinsmen.” Shehu claimed that his seditious utterances and antics, publicly expressed, have grown into hateful and vile laden speeches.    

“The government respects fundamental rights of citizens to express their views and recognises this as a democratic tenet. However, any attempt to build an armoury coupled with plans either subtle or expressed to undermine our unity as a nation will not be condoned. Mr. President’s directives to Security Services regarding anyone seen to be carrying arms, particularly AK-47 are clear and require no further illumination.Assault weapons are not tools of peace loving people and as such, regardless of who they are and where they are from, Security Agencies should treat them all the same.”

Shehu said the successes of the nation’s security agencies must be commended as they have demonstrated significant deftness, guile and secrecy in carrying out these missions.

Sun