Dr. Bukola Saraki
Senate president Bukola Saraki has said that the declarations made by the Southeast governors and the Nigerian Army on the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB contravene the Constitution of Nigeria. Saraki, a former governor said the two groups flouted the constitution with their pronouncements, insisting that he believed that should the decisions espoused in the pronouncements be necessary , the onus is on President Muhammadu Buhari to “do the needful “. According to Saraki, in a statement issued on Monday,”the announcement of the proscription of the group known as Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by Governors of the South-east states and the categorization of the group as a ‘terrorist organisation’ by the Nigerian military are unconstitutional and does not follow due process.”
The Senate president was reacting to a pronouncement by the governors proscribing activities of IPOB in the zone and the statement by the military tagging the group as a terrorist organisation. He rightly said the military statement contravened the Terrorism (prevention) Act 2013 as amended, which vested the categorisation of a group as such in the president, after satisfying certain conditions.
In the statement, the Senate president said the National Assembly probe into the happenings in the zone to determine the fact of the case without bias. He, however, implores all concerned to kindly exercise restraint on the interest of the country.
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