The governors of the five southeastern states have said that those behind the insecurity in the region are criminals and not biafra shakers
The governors made this statement after their closed-door meeting of more than two hours at Government House, Enugu, on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, his counterpart from Abia State Alex Otti and host Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State.
Also in attendance were Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and Charles Soludo, her counterpart from Anambra State.
Briefing journalists on behalf of the governors, the president of the Southeast Governors Forum, Mr. Uzodinma, who read a statement issued at the end of the meeting, said they were “firmly resolved to fight insecurity decisively ” in the region both individually and collectively.
He said the governors also resolved to combat insecurity in partnership with the federal government and other unnamed stakeholders.
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“We want to state categorically that the perpetrators of insecurity in the region and their sponsors are criminals and should not be seen as legitimate (Biafra) agitators.
“Therefore, upon being arrested, they (the perpetrators) must be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the country,” he said.
The governors also announced that they had resolved to hold an economic and security summit on a date that will be announced shortly.
They congratulated the security agencies for their cooperation so far in the fight against insecurity in the region and urged them not to give in at this time.
Background
Security has deteriorated in the Igbo-speaking part of the south-east with frequent attacks by armed individuals.
Attacks often target security agencies, government officials, and facilities.
Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in such attacks.
The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
This is the first time that the five governors will meet to discuss insecurity in the region after the 2023 general election in which three of the governors were elected: Messrs Mbah, Nwifuru and Otti.
Newslodge concluded that the meeting focused on how to stop the infamous Monday sit-in-at-home that is often imposed by an IPOB faction in the South East.
This newspaper also reported that IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, in late July, through a handwritten letter sent through Aloy Ejimakor, his special counsel, ordered a pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to leave to issue sit-at-home orders in the region.
But Ekpa, who has continued to issue the order in the region, described the letter as “false” and kept that the illegal order would continue until Mr. Kanu spoke to him directly in Finland, a northern European country, where he (Ekpa) resides.
The pro-Biafra agitator leads Autopilot, a faction of IPOB, a group fighting for an independent state of Biafra that it wants to separate from the southeast and some parts of south-south Nigeria.
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