Newspaper review: We will not allow a agitators divide Nigeria - Abia state governor

The headlines of mainstream Nigerian newspapers for Tuesday, September 19, are focused on the backlash that the Nigerian military declared IPOB a terrorist organisation.

The Punch reports that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has said the declaration by the Nigerian military that the Indigenous People of Biafra is a terrorist organisation is unconstitutional.

He also said the ban placed on the group’s activities by the South-East governors did not follow due process.

However, the Chief Whip, House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, has condemned Saraki, saying the Senate President’s declaration was “a mere political statement” that portrayed the nation’s Number Three citizen as “a controversial leader.”

In a statement on Monday, Saraki said the National Assembly would investigate the crisis in the South-East.

However, Saraki commended the military for maintaining the peace in the South-East but added that their declaration of the group as a terrorist organisation was unconstitutional.

The Punch newspaper

Vanguard reports Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has kicked against the Defence Headquarters’ categorization of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as a terrorist organisation, saying that it was not only unconstitutional but also against due process and such had no effect.

He urged those who had been acting on the categorization to cool down because “we are a country that operates by laid-down process under every circumstance.”

Saraki’s declaration came as the federal government yesterday directed the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to initiate a process in court today to ban IPOB.

At the weekend, the Police said they would prosecute arrested IPOB members with charges of terrorism.

But Saraki in a statement he personally signed yesterday, said the National Assembly will carry out a holistic investigation into the military’s show of force in the South-East and its ongoing Operation Python Dance II, particularly in remote villages around Umuahia, the Abia State capital, as well as the crisis in the geo-political zone.

Vanguard newspaper

ThisDay reports that in a move to take the heat off the Nigerian Army and ensure that due process is followed, President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a presidential proclamation proscribing the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) over the group’s involvement in terrorist activities.

Making this known yesterday, sources in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation informed THISDAY that the president signed the declaration on Sunday before his departure for the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, where he will be expected to address other world leaders today.

Buhari’s decision to sign the proclamation was a fallout of the sharp criticism that followed the declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organisation by the Nigerian Army at the weekend and the group’s proscription by the South-east governors.

Although the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai yesterday made a half-hearted attempt to deny that the army had declared IPOB a terrorist group, this did not stop the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki from insisting that due process should have been followed before the declaration and proscription by the army and South-east governors respectively.

ThisDay newspaper

The Nation reports that five from the North visited Rivers and Abia states, preaching peace. They also addressed Northerners, telling them to remain calm, following the tension generated by the activities of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The governors were led by Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima. Others are Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Aminu Masari (Katsina) and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi).

Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu promised to defend Nigeria’s unity, despite the IPOB agitation.

“We will not allow a few agitators to divide Nigeria,” Ikpeazu told the delegation.

He thanked them for the visit and assured them of the safety of northerners in the Southeast.

Shettima praised Southeast governors for their efforts in ensuring that the clash of IPOB members with the military did not escalate.

The Nation newspaper

The Guardian reports that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, yesterday announced a plan to create special courts solely for the purpose of hearing and speedily determining corruption and financial crime cases.

Onnoghen broke the news while speaking at the opening of the 2017/2018 Legal Year, and the swearing-in of 29 members of the Nigerian Bar Association conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in Abuja.

According to the CJN, all heads of courts have been directed to compile and forward to the National Judicial Council (NJC), comprehensive lists of all corruption and financial crime cases being handled by their various courts.

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“Where such cases come on appeal, to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, special dates on each week shall be fixed solely for hearing and determining such appeals.

“In order for the NJC to monitor and effectively enforce the foregoing policy, an anti-corruption cases trial monitoring committee will be constituted at the next council meeting."