APC, PDP, ACF, Others Call for Calm, Restraint in S’East

Police sergeant killed, 32 IPOB members arrested in Rivers Kanu cancels meeting with govs, curfew extended in Abia

Following the violent clashes this week between the military and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Abia and Rivers States, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party and Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), among others, have called for calm and admonished all parties to exercise restraint.

However, further bloody skirmishes were recorded in

Oyigbo, Rivers State yesterday, leading to the death of a police sergeant and arrest of 32 IPOB agitators.

But in a bid to forestall a further breakdown of law and order in the neighbouring city of Aba in Abia State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu extended the dusk to dawn curfew, which he imposed on the commercial nerve centre of the state on Tuesday, to Friday.

In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, APC, while calling for restraint, equally expressed regret over the incident at the NUJ Secretariat in Umuahia, the Abia State capital where journalists were assaulted by armed soldiers and their phones and other electronic devices destroyed on Tuesday.

APC, in the statement, further stressed that the security agencies must adhere to globally stipulated rules of engagements and laws governing their operations.

“We must allow our security agencies to conduct their constitutional roles of securing lives and property without hindrance and provocation.

“We also call on citizens, social commentators, media influencers and other stakeholders to be careful and mindful of their utterances on the clashes.

“Stoking tensions by inciting utterances, hate speech and all other forms of awful propaganda will only push the country to the precipice.

“When we see the devastation of the country’s North-east by Boko Haram, the 1966 Nigerian Civil War and similar conflicts in other countries, we are reminded of the effects of internal strife.

“We must not yield to elements beating the drumbeats of war. We owe the peace and unity of our dear country to the present and unborn generations.

“We must speak and stand up for peaceful coexistence on our social media platforms, places of worship and all other public spaces we belong to,” APC said.

The party reiterated its belief in a united Nigeria.

In its reaction to the situation in Abia, the opposition PDP also sued for caution and restraint in the handling the conflict that has erupted in the state between the military and elements of the IPOB.

PDP noted that while it was committed to the continued corporate existence of Nigeria as one indivisible country, it at the same time expressed its respect for the rights of people anywhere to express their yearnings and aspirations within the confines of the laws of the land.

A statement by PDP spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye stated that at a time that “tempers seem to be flaring, dialogue rather than violence is the only viable option to resolve whatever problems are on ground in the South-east zone and indeed the entire country”.

It said at this critical juncture when the nation is grappling with numerous challenges in virtually all facets, Nigeria can ill-afford a further descent into anarchy in any of its constituent parts.

“What the country needs at this time is an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, without which no meaningful positive development in whatever sector can be attained, and the situation unfolding in the South-east, which is a very important component of the Nigerian family, is no doubt, inimical to our collective quest to take Nigeria higher.

“It is therefore in our enlightened interest as a people and as a nation, to rise up to this challenge intelligently without undue egotism and with the best interest of the country at heart,” it said.

The party expressed the view that the situation was a family squabble which the country should be able to deal with without unnecessary bloodshed.

It also reminded both the federal government and the IPOB that a sit-down had become inevitable.

While acknowledging its constitutional mandate of ensuring the protection of the territorial integrity of the country, PDP appealed to the federal government to deploy constructive engagement, involving effective and efficient communication strategies that would allay all fears as well as assure all component parts of Nigeria of their assured place in the national scheme of things.

It also appealed to IPOB and its leadership to reciprocate such gesture where and when offered, reminding them that their continued recalcitrance would achieve nothing other than subjecting people of their area to untold hardship and harm.

The PDP also commended the government of Abia State for the mature way it has handling the delicate situation and urged people of the state to continue to support and cooperate with it.

On its part, the ACF also called for calm and commended Ikpeazu for imposing a dusk to dawn curfew on Aba, following the clash between supporters of IPOB and the Nigerian Army.

In a statement in Kaduna yesterday, the publicity secretary of ACF, Mohammed Ibrahim Biu said IPOB supporters and other agitators for whatever reason should pursue their cause within the confines of the law. The statement read: “The attention of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has been drawn to the alleged reported clashes between troops of the Nigerian Army while on Operation Python Dance II and members of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in Aba, Abia State.

“ACF commends the prompt intervention of the Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, who has imposed a three day dusk to dawn curfew on Aba town in order to douse the tension and bring the situation under control.

“With the dusk to dawn curfew in place, the military and other security agencies should ensure that peace and harmony in the areas affected are not only restored but sustained.

“ACF also commends the efforts of the South-east Governors’ Forum for setting up a probe committee to investigate the clash in order to unravel its remote causes and to proffer an enduring solution to such problems.

“Identified perpetrators of the crisis should be made to face the wrath of the law in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

“In this regard, ACF urges the governors of the South-east and South-south regions to take adequate and necessary steps to protect the lives and properties of the innocent and law abiding citizens living in their states.

“ACF appeals to members of IPOB and other agitators for whatever cause, to always pursue their concerns within the confines of the law and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

“Furthermore, ACF wishes to praise the military for their professionalism in handling the security challenges and calls on the federal government to be firm and resolute in bringing such situations under control in favor of peaceful coexistence needed for meaningful socioeconomic development.

“We therefore appeal for calm and urge citizens to appreciate the need to live in peace and harmony.”

Also towing the same path of the ACF, a Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) in Kano yesterday called on Northerners to resist anything that would lead to unnecessary provocation and that could lead to reprisal attacks over the unfolding events in the South-east.

The group, which was reacting to reports that some Northerners resident in Oyigbo were molested and had to seek the protection of the police, called for calm and for Northerners to be law abiding.

Addressing journalists at the Kano Press Centre over the unfortunate situation in Abia, the spokesman of the group, Mr. Abdulazeez Suleiman, in the company of the chairman and co-chairman Ashir Shariff and Shetima Yerima, said: “As cultured people with a long history of tolerance and respect for constituted authority, we call on Northerners to resist the temptation of carrying out reprisals and playing to the gallery.”

Suleiman added that