CD condemns Army’s threat to pro-Biafra groups

 Campaign for Democracy (CD) has urged the military to leave  pro-Biafra groups alone but face immediate challenges of Boko Haram insurgence that has ravaged the North East.
The group said threats by the military to clampdown on pro-Biafra groups, who were protesting the arrest of leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu   was unconstitutional and abuse of human right should they venture into it.
CD Chairman in the South-East, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, said the group has constitutional right to embark on peaceful protest calling for the release of their leader who was arrested by security agents. He further added that any attempt by the Army to touch any member of the  group would amount to breach of fundamental human rights of the members, which he said was against the international court justice.
In a related development, General Overseer of Mount Zion Faith Global Liberation Ministries a.ka. By Fire By Fire, Nnewi, Anambra State, Rt Rev Bishop Abraham Chris Udeh has warned against the use of force on the  protesters.
Bishop Udeh gave the warning, yesterday, at Akabukwu Uruagu, Nnewi after a ministration. He said threats by the military to use force against those demanding for Kanu’s release would be counter-productive and was capable of over-heating the polity.
He said the only thing that could stop the protest naturally would be to release Kanu unconditionally to calm the protesters who might not succumb to any threat unless he regained his freedom.
He said due process of the law should be followed by producing Kanu in court than his continued detention without trial.
According to him, “Inline with our constitution especially in Chapter 4 and chapter 33 to 40 of 1999 constitution as amended, the military has no right to use force against the defenseless pro Biafra groups who were protesting the release of their leader arrested. If the federal government can release their leader that solves the problem but court of competent jurisdiction has given an order that a particular condition should be met before the release of the man and they have met the condition why are they still holding the young man. The man was supposed to appear before the court yesterday but they refused to bring him to court which made the court to issue order to bring him to court alive or death on November 23”.
“The federal government is violating the law, the law they supposed to keep that they are now violating. The military threat is empty because it seems that the military is ignorant of the law as far as the pro Biafra protesters were taking laws into their hands. Peaceful Protest cross the globe is allowed as far as it is inline with the law, if they don’t go into violent protest with arms destroying things, destroying government property but in this case it is civil protest against the arrest of their leader, government should listen to know why they protesting, it is inline with democratic trends. So the military is ignorant of the law and that is why they are making empty threat and they cannot do anything”.
“We are calling for overhauling of military personnel because they lack the capacity to fight the Boko Haram in the North, there us serious security challenges in the Northern part of country and they have failed to address the issue but threaten the group without arms who are defenseless. So, the CD and other Civil Society condemns the threat by the military against pro Biafra groups” Uzor stated.
He however advised the President to look inward to actually know whether the security men were obeying the law or violating the law of the country, saying that court has spoken over the matter and Kanu should be released “ we are moving to anarchy if the security agencies cannot obey court order. So federal should be mindful of what happened in 1983 enactment decrees against humanity”.
The CD also called on federal government set panel to unravel the killings of some youths during the protest and pay compensation to the families of those that were killed during the peaceful protest across the South-East and parts of South-South geopolitical zones.