BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
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A human rights organisation, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) Lagos, has decried the rising cases of insecurity in South East geo-political zone.
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The group, however, said the disturbing level of insecurity should not be blamed on the pro-Biafra groups who are agitating for the actualisation of Biafra.
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Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma who stated this in Enugu on Wednesday in an address at the official launch of the report of the “Unveiling the Roots of Insecurity; Healing the Wounds of Human Rights Violations in South-East Nigeria: A Path Towards Peace, Open Democratic Space and a Prosperous Future,” held as at the Predia Hotel, said that brute force employed by the Federal Government also helped in fueling insecurity in the geo-political zone.
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Nwanguma noted that blaming pro-Biafra agitaion alone for insecurity in Southeast would not paint a true picture but a warped and jaundiced picture of what is obtainable.
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He however said that the solution in tackling insecurity in Southeast should be put in proper perspective to achieve the desired goal of ensuring enduring peace.
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His words: “While RULAAC acknowledges that pro-Biafra agitation and insurgency are significant contributors to insecurity in the South East, attributing the problem solely to these factors paints an incomplete picture.
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“A lasting solution demands acknowledging the intricate web of additional forces fueling the flames of violence. One of the additional factors fueling the cycle of violence, as documented in this report, is federal government’s single-minded brute force and counterproductive approach to fighting insecurity in the zone.
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“This report, produced and printed with financial support from Ford Foundation, is intended to drive the true narrative about the nature, roots, patterns, dimensions and the effects of current government’s approach to tackling insecurity in the South East,” he posits.
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The activist who through the report seeks a peaceful Southeast, said that Igbos were peaceful and peaceful loving people and for this reason, they deserve to be assisted to achieve security.
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“The people of the South-East desire and deserve an environment where the people and residents live in peace, safety, freedom and prosperity,” he declares.
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Speaking at the occasion, an emeritus professor, Professor Obasi Igwe posited that the Southeast are not fairly treated in Nigeria, adding that other Nigerians are treating Ndigbo like the Bandustan, the isolated area of South Africa or the Concentration Camp in Germany.
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Igwe largely blamed the former President Buhari who he said that instead ensuring peace in the Southeast rather unleashed the security agencies to clamp in the zone by coming up with one Operation this Operation that like the military operation Python Dance that necessitated numerous road blocks as if there was a war.
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