February 10, 2020

You know I like to tell you the truth, you hate me for it. But I leave it in the hand of God. As unfair as the proscription of IPOB may be, as unjust as it may be; once an organization is proscribed, you cannot do anything (even hold a meeting of members) with the name of such organization. In fact, it becomes illegal to be a member of such organization. Whatever government that unjustly proscribed you will unjustly arrest your members and unjustly imprison them. That's just the reality of the situation. When IPOB became proscribed, all efforts should be directed toward unproscribing it. Don't just ignore it and try to move on as if nothing happened. Everybody expected IPOB to hire a very capable legal team to fight the proscription. But instead, they continued with the relatively light weight lawyer Ejiofor on such serious matter. Alternatively, while fighting to unproscribe IPOB, IPOB leaders could have adopted another name such as Biafran Peoples Movement. It will take time before that would be banned. That way, they will always be operating under a name that has not been proscribed. So, how do you expect that after banning IPOB the same government would allow you to gather in such name? I would have been surprised. Having said that, I totally disapprove of the manner the police and military have been going about it. They should have declared their position on IPOB gatherings all along. Don't leave it uncertain what will happen under certain conditions and make it appear that all you want to stop is the burial. Also, the confusion over military operation or police operation over the matter shows a very confused government. And the police choice of describing itself as the elephant dancing in a crowd of people is quite unfortunate and it depicts the character of the Nigerian police as a force of oppression. Note that Mr. Ene Okon, the Police Commissioner for Abia State  (apparently a Biafran) said: “They (Afaraukwu community) should tell IPOB not go near the area, let alone participating in the burial". He further said. "Whoever thinks along that line is fooling himself. IPOB will dance during the burial and the police elephants will dance too." He insisted that if members of IPOB were seen anywhere around the burial venue, the police would scatter the burial. With such tone, it is clear that the police want to monitor closely the burial. Strategically considered, this will help Kanu in the long run. More people will see him as the symbol of resistance against bad and oppressive system. And eventually, he becomes a genuine leader of his followers.

On Friday, three officers of the Nigerian Army, two majors and a captain, were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison. It is reported that after their sentencing, one of them, Major Oseni, fled without a trace. This is yet another incident that undermines public confidence in the armed forces. Many will never believe that other officers did not help Major Oseni escape from custody. SUNDAY PUNCH had reported that the General Court Martial in Abuja on Friday sentenced Majors Oseni, Ogbemudia Osawe and Second Lieutenant Nuhu Dogary to 10 years’ each imprisonment for torturing Lance Corporal Collins to death. With the escape of Major Oseni, the military has mounted a manhunt to try to arrest him and a signal has been sent from the armed forces headquarters to all military formations and units in the country. The signal reads, “The GCM sitting at Army Headquarters Command Mess, Abuja, delivered a judgment on the case between the Nigerian Army versus Major A.A. Oseni, N/12127; Major O.U. Osawe, N/12004; Captain S.E. Amosu, N/13041; and Second Lieutenant N.B. Dogary, N/16390. The accused officers were charged with manslaughter, punishable under Section 105 of the AFA CAP A20 LFN 2004. “Findings: Captain Amosu, N/13041, was found not guilty and was discharged and acquitted, while Majors Oseni, Osawe and 2Lt Dogary were found guilty and awarded 10 years’ imprisonment. “However, after the pronouncement of judgement, the accused officers marched out of the court premises with Captain K.S. Chime, and proceeded to Captain J.E Akwaraonwu’s office. “Thereafter, Major Oseni took an excuse from Captain Chime to use the toilet. At about 7pm same day, Major Oseni was nowhere to be found. A thorough search was carried out within and outside the mess’ premises, but the accused was not found. “Meanwhile, Major Osawe and 2 Lt Dogary are currently under the Special Investigations Bureau’s custody pending further action. The Army Headquarters Garrrison has mounted a manhunt for the convicted officer. The Nigeria Police and DSS have also been contacted.”