Now that IPOB is a terrorist organisation
NaijaRock
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Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday October 3, 2017 at 21:7:41:
The Nigerian Federal government and a court recently declared that the Indigenous People of Biafra - IPOB is now a terrorist organization. Amazing! Surprising! What really is a terrorist organization? I thought it should be something like Boko haram or ISIS.What this proscription by the Federal government means is that they are outlawed by the government and the police could shoot them on sight if they show their face in public. In the past, IPOB had been allowed to move and act freely as a peaceful association but after taking time to study them, the government thought it best to outlaw them so as to prevent further breakdown of law and order. Their declaration as a terrorist organization was surprising for many and while some people have spoken against it, others have supported it. The bottom line is that Nigerians are divided on the issue.Given what many Nigerians understand to be a terrorist organisation, not many agree that they are anything close to it since they don't carry arms or carry out terrorist attacks but have been mostly peaceful other than always carrying out public protests which draws large number of young Nigerians mostly in the former Eastern region once occupied by Biafra. The only few times we've seen people die during public promotions by IPOB according to media reports are when their protests are suppressed by armed policemen and soldiers. The IPOB many Nigerians know from the media don't carry arms, bomb targets or do kidnapping as many notorious terrorist organizations do but it seems their only fault are the hate speeches attributed to their leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.Anyway, prior to their declaration as a terrorist organization, media reports had it that the home of the IPOB's leader was raided by the the Nigerian army and since them Nnamdi Kanu had been missing while many members were also killed.The quest for Biafra by these IPOB youths seem to be taking a dangerous trend as there have been accusations of extra judicial killings of unarmed people by the military and if we could remember, this was what led to the growth of terrorist attacks by Boko haram in the north after their leader was killed. The suppression of IPOB may lead to young Pro-Biafran men carrying out terrorist attacks in a bid to justify their actions because they feel that the government themself do on obey the law.The proscription of IPOB may also lead to the police arresting people who may not be members of IPOB but rather just pro-Biafrans especially if they were carrying flags or wearing T-shirts that support Biafra.While the Nigerian government has declared IPOB as a terrorist organization, there is also a need for the public and police to note that that there are many other existing and lawful pro-Biafran groups such as MASSOB and BIM which should not be illegally oppressed since they have a right to exist under the law.IPOB has been declared as a terrorist organization but we've also learnt that they have filed a counter case in court to defend their right to exist so we've not yet heard the end of it.I think Nigerians should be given a right to express their freedom to associate wherever they are as long as they don't break the law or attack other people's right.The issue of whether IPOB should be classified as a terrorist organization or not is still an issue that many Nigerians have started debating on even if it appears that the Federal government has won the first round.
The Nigerian Federal government and a court recently declared that the Indigenous People of Biafra - IPOB is now a terrorist organization. Amazing! Surprising! What really is a terrorist organization? I thought it should be something like Boko haram or ISIS.What this proscription by the Federal government means is that they are outlawed by the government and the police could shoot them on sight if they show their face in public. In the past, IPOB had been allowed to move and act freely as a peaceful association but after taking time to study them, the government thought it best to outlaw them so as to prevent further breakdown of law and order. Their declaration as a terrorist organization was surprising for many and while some people have spoken against it, others have supported it. The bottom line is that Nigerians are divided on the issue.Given what many Nigerians understand to be a terrorist organisation, not many agree that they are anything close to it since they don't carry arms or carry out terrorist attacks but have been mostly peaceful other than always carrying out public protests which draws large number of young Nigerians mostly in the former Eastern region once occupied by Biafra. The only few times we've seen people die during public promotions by IPOB according to media reports are when their protests are suppressed by armed policemen and soldiers. The IPOB many Nigerians know from the media don't carry arms, bomb targets or do kidnapping as many notorious terrorist organizations do but it seems their only fault are the hate speeches attributed to their leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.Anyway, prior to their declaration as a terrorist organization, media reports had it that the home of the IPOB's leader was raided by the the Nigerian army and since them Nnamdi Kanu had been missing while many members were also killed.The quest for Biafra by these IPOB youths seem to be taking a dangerous trend as there have been accusations of extra judicial killings of unarmed people by the military and if we could remember, this was what led to the growth of terrorist attacks by Boko haram in the north after their leader was killed. The suppression of IPOB may lead to young Pro-Biafran men carrying out terrorist attacks in a bid to justify their actions because they feel that the government themself do on obey the law.The proscription of IPOB may also lead to the police arresting people who may not be members of IPOB but rather just pro-Biafrans especially if they were carrying flags or wearing T-shirts that support Biafra.While the Nigerian government has declared IPOB as a terrorist organization, there is also a need for the public and police to note that that there are many other existing and lawful pro-Biafran groups such as MASSOB and BIM which should not be illegally oppressed since they have a right to exist under the law.IPOB has been declared as a terrorist organization but we've also learnt that they have filed a counter case in court to defend their right to exist so we've not yet heard the end of it.I think Nigerians should be given a right to express their freedom to associate wherever they are as long as they don't break the law or attack other people's right.The issue of whether IPOB should be classified as a terrorist organization or not is still an issue that many Nigerians have started debating on even if it appears that the Federal government has won the first round.