Soludo approves amnesty for militants as hoodlums invade Anambra police stations – Nexus News
Governor Chukwuma Soludo, yesterday, declared an amnesty for Biafran militants in Anambra State.
He said this in a statement released, briefly after a prayer session to end the controversial sit-at-home order enforced by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He said: “I have also offered amnesty to all our brothers in the various forests around us. Give us your guns and trust us to help you forge a meaningful living.”
The statement reads: ‘Following the unanimous agreement of our leaders across the board, and the endorsement of the entire body of Christ, I am pleased to inform our people that, today, Monday, April 4, 2022, marks the official end to the ‘Monday sit-at-home in Anambra State.
“Shortly, I will be announcing the membership of the Peace and Reconciliation Committee that will look into addressing all areas of sincere challenge, including interfacing with the Federal Government on behalf of all prisoners of conscience.
“I have also offered amnesty to all our brothers in the various forests around us. Give us your guns and trust us to help you forge a meaningful living.
“The task of taking back our dear state and reclaiming the dignity of our collective existence is at the heart of our drive towards a liveable and prosperous homeland. This task is a must.
“I call for your support and prayers, as we have resolved to fiercely go after criminal elements who are out to threaten our peace and distort our development.
“Anambra is the Light of the Nation. We must keep it so.”
Soludo’s announcement came as hoodlums invaded the Amichi Divisional Police Headquarters in Nnewi South Local Council and others.
The attack occurred roughly 24 hours after the administrative headquarters of the council was attacked, leaving two people dead.
Amichi and the other stations were still under reconstruction, having been one of the police posts attacked during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.
The spokesman, Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, affirmed the attack.
He said there was no casualty, noting that a team of police personnel had been deployed to the area to ensure calm.
He noted that the hoodlums also invaded Osumoghu and Ezenifite police stations.
He said: “After the #EndSARS incident, the communities started reconstruction of those stations and they have not finished them. At the time of the attack, there were no policemen there. I wonder why somebody would attack them.”
He disclosed that normalcy had been restored and implored residents with vital information to make them available to the police so as to enable the command to deal with the culprits.
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MEANWHILE, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, implored the five governors in the South East to use dialogue and consultations in seeking lasting peace and security in the region.
HURIWA, in a press release by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated that constant military deployments in the zone, over the years, have failed to yield results, hence the need for dialogue with aggrieved parties.
The group revealed this, following a series of attacks, last weekend, including the setting ablaze of the secretariat of Orsu Local Council in Imo State and the death of officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps by gunmen along the Igbo-Uku-Uga Road in Anambra State.
HURIWA also implored Soludo to lead the campaign for the release of all Igbo sons and daughters detained unlawfully, including the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The group implored Soludo to enforce the “action plan” on insecurity in the zone, according to his inauguration speech, last month, when he said: “Criminality cannot be sugar coated. This must stop. All stakeholders must now review both the narrative and the action plan.”
It said: “The insecurity in the South East has become a serious debacle and governors in the zone must strengthen consultations and dialogue with representatives of all shades of opinion, with a view to ascertaining the identity of the sponsors of violence and reach a truce.
“Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, who is the closest to President Muhammadu Buhari, must take a passionate interest in jointly taking steps with other governors to realize the objective of securing freedom for Kanu and cessation of all violence. He should join forces with his brother governors to stamp out criminality and stop sounding false alarms, blaming opposition politicians.”
HURIWA noted that it was wrong for the military to have clamped down violently on the Eastern Security Network (ESN) for purchasing arms to secure their farmlands from invasion by armed Fulani terrorists, who have killed hundreds of farmers and raped many women, even while none of the killers has ever been arraigned or punished.
The group said: “It is unjust to isolate ESN for decimation, while the Civilian Joint Task Force, in many northern states, operate side by side with the military to rid the territory of terrorists.”
