The Movement for The Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB, The International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, and The Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch, have today lampooned the defenses put forward by the Governor of Lagos State and two of his party’s chieftains, Mr. Joe Igbokwe of the Lagos State APC and Dr.
Chris Ngige of Anambra APC; over the dumping of 72 innocent
citizens in Onitsha at 3:am. MASSOB also today banned Lagos state government
official and the spokesman of the ACN in Lagos state, Mr Joe Igbokwe from
setting foot in South East Nigeria.
MASSOB’s Deputy National Director of Information, Mazi Chris
Mocha saturday evening gave Igbokwe a 7 day ultimatum to apologise to Ndi Igbo
over his statement on the repatriation of Igbo miscreants to South East
Nigeria. Mocha described Joe Igbokwe as a 'traitor' who is being paid by the
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to betray Ndi-Igbo.
In a press statement made available to elombah.com titled
“Internal Deportation Of Nigerian Citizens By Government Of Lagos State,
MASSOB, Intersociety & Anambra CLO warned today in Onitsha, South east
Nigeria that Nigeria may go up in flames if Governor Fashola's impunity is left
unchecked.
BELOW is the full text of the press statement:
“Internal Deportation Of Nigerian Citizens By Government Of
Lagos State: Nigeria May Go Up In Flames If Unchecked”-MASSOB, Intersociety
& Anambra CLO Warned Today In Onitsha Nigeria
(Joint Public Statement, Onitsha Nigeria, August 3,
2013)-“As the man who saw tomorrow, we, the Movement for the Actualization of
the Sovereign State of Biafra, saw years ago, the needlessness of the present
Nigerian Federation that makes some citizens predators and others predators’
meals; a so-called country where
citizens are made slaves and destitute in their own land. Such is what we
painfully called NIGERIA today, which is nothing but a camp of enslavement and butchery”-Says
Comrade Uchenna Madu, MASSOB National Director of Information.
“The arrogance, remorseless postures, callous choice of
words and unguarded utterances of the Governor of Lagos State in his futile
justification of the Nazi-like deportation of Nigerians have clearly vindicated
our earlier position that: 1. Lagos State has laid a case both in theory and
practice that it is tired of being governed by the mother law-the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. 2. The State runs a separatist
enclave.3. The State is the most lawless federating unit in the Nigerian
Federation. 4. The provisions of the mother law have been made inoperable and
subject of infraction and disobedience in the State. 5. The criminal and civil
laws of Lagos State are now supreme and superior to the mother law.6. The State
has jettisoned and disregarded the Constitution and now operates Hitler-like
laws and policies with recklessness.”- Says Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chairman of the
Intersociety’s Board.
It is very easy to tell lies or indulge in illegal acts but
very difficult, if not impossible to defend them. By convention, liars use
passive voice, while truth tellers use active voice. As a result, the defenses
put forward by the Governor of Lagos State and two of his party’s chieftains, Mr. Joe Igbokwe of the Lagos State APC and Dr. Chris Ngige of Anambra APC; over the
dumping of 72 innocent citizens in Onitsha at 3:am have continued to expose them. Another twist
to the criminal and unconstitutional conduct was the circulation of some
documents to justify the gross constitutional misconduct. Unfortunately for
them, the indefensible documents turned out to be utterly incoherent with the
subject matter. In other words, the documents they authored and invoked for
defense have caught them in the act by disclosing further how a governor
magisterially and unconstitutionally sanctioned the internal deportation of the
citizens of the same federation to another federating unit in a commando style
at the hours of blue law.
Apart from the fact that the
act of internal deportation of citizens , by itself, grossly violates
the Constitution, the documents, which includes purported exchange of letters
between an aide of the LASG and the Lagos liaison office of the Anambra State Government
in April 2013 as well as names of the so-called fourteen citizens of Anambra
State origin; are grossly contradictory and baseless. Also, there is no link
between the said documents and the callous act of bundling 72 innocent
Nigerians at the hours of blue law to
another federating unit. We believe strongly that the documents were hurriedly
dusted up to justify the criminal and unconstitutional conduct carried out on
July 24, 2013. That is to say over three months after the purported correspondence
exchange took place (April 2013). To further expose the emptiness and
immateriality of the documents, thirteen out of the fourteen names have no
links to traditional Igbo surnames of Anambra State as well as the local
governments and towns the documents claimed they hailed from. None of the names
also tallied with the names of the 72 deportees some of, which are in
possession of relevant agencies of the Anambra State Government, the media, the
Red Cross and the Rights groups.
The names with fake surnames, towns and LGAs of origin are:
1.” Nokonu Ani”, from “Ikanu” in “Ikanu LGA”
of “Anambra State”. 2. “Onyekua” “Okuwa”, from “Ihiala LGA”. 3. Jude
“Olumba”, from “Omunama” town of “Nnewi LGA”. 4. “Emma Okori”, from
“Ikolegbene” town. 5. Ndubuisi “Kalu”, from “Onitsha, Ogbosiri LGA”. 6. Okoro
John, from “Osarobi” town of Nnewi South LGA. 7. “Andy Oshornogor”(no town and LGA). 8. Sunday Nwagwu (no town and
LGA). 9.” Joseph Eto”, from”Gbogboasan” town, in “ Obudu LGA”. 10.”Christian
Otu”(no town and LGA). 11. Ifeoma Chukwuemeka, from Ojoto in Idemmili South
LGA. 12.Juliet Ikemere, from Ufuma in “ Olumba LGA”. 13. “Grace Udo”, from
“Asia” town. 14. “Victoria Agboola”(Yoruba). Out of these fourteen names,
thirteen names are faked with fake towns and LGAs; except one Ifeoma
Chukwuemeka from Ojoto in Idemmili South LGA. In other words, these names,
towns and LGAs are not known to the Government of Anambra State, its Local
Government, town/community and traditional surname systems.
Apart from the foregoing, more revelations as per how
innocent Nigerian citizens including petty traders were rounded up by the LASG
on Lagos roads and streets, detained for over seven months without trial and
deported to Onitsha Upper Iweka in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria, have continued
to emerge and rubbish a bunch of falsified and clueless excuses offered by the
Government of Lagos State and its ruling party chieftains including Engineer
Joe Igbokwe and Dr. Chris Ngige. One of such revelations came from one of the
deportees, Miss Rosemary Nathaniel of Ubakala, Umuahia in Abia State. According
to her”I was arrested in January 2013 with a friend by some KAI operatives of
the LASG while standing and discussing by the roadside. Before my arrest and
detention, I was working at a T-shirt weaving centre at Mile2. We were taken to an illegal prison at Alausa
area of Lagos, where we met others who were also arrested and detained. The
painful aspect of it was that they were not bordered to ask any of us where we
live or what we do for a living. As I speak, my sister whom I live with does
not know anything about my whereabouts. It is a sad thing that this is
happening in one’s country” (source:
Vanguard Newspaper, 2nd August, 2013). Other deportees are Friday
Ndukwe-Ohafia, Abia State; Grace Igbochi-Lagos State; Ugulori Tutua-Warri,
Delta State; and Chinyere Nicholas-Awomama, Imo State.
Dr. Chris Ngige’s attempt to defend the grossly
unconstitutional act of his potential campaign funders and political party
ticket givers ended up rubbishing them the more. His introduction of barefaced
falsehood into the atrocious act dimmed the little chance available for them to
apologize to Nigerians especially the Igbo-Lagosians. His weight behind such
modern slavery speaks volume of soiled and inhuman characters occupying our
public offices and those seeking to occupy same. How can a sane State
Government accept to receive the internally deported citizens at a boundary
that does not link it and the deporting State and at the blue law hour of 3:
am? Were the deportees dumped at the Niger Bridgehead or under the Onitsha
Upper Iweka Flyover? Why would armed police escorts accompany a peacefully
negotiated exchange of deportees between the Lagos and the Anambra State
Governments? Is Upper Iweka Flyover the Government House of Anambra State?
“As for Engineer Joe Igbokwe, we are not surprised at his
throwing of weight behind the dastardly act of his political employers. We are
eagerly waiting for his change of Igbo name and adoption of the Yoruba surname
soonest. His continued bearing of Igbo name is beginning to disconfort us.
Somebody who used to attack our own Eze-Igbo Gburugburu without regard to his
seminal wisdom and old age can do anything including selling his people in
return for bowel of Amara and red oil soup. He must be careful so as not to be
declared a persona non grata in Igbo land including his Nnewi town, the great
home of our Great Ikemba.”-Says Comrade Uchenna Madu
As far as we are collectively concerned, Governor Babatunde
Fashola has exhibited unfitness,
constitutionally, to continue to function as a governor having gravely
violated the Constitution under which he was elected to govern and which he
swore to uphold and protect at all times. He ought to have resigned or be
impeached. The impeccability of his
SANship is also threatened so also decency and decorum attached to the inner
Bar in Nigeria. A knowledgeable governor ought to guide his choice of words and
mode of public speeches at all times. How can he describe the Igbo-Lagosians as
“guests” and his government “host government”? Are Igbo-Lagosians foreign
citizens in Lagos? What makes him think that Mr. President has no
constitutional or legal powers over his State and its unconstitutional conducts
even in matters such as being complained of that threaten the national security
and put the Constitution and the citizens in jeopardy? What does he mean by “a
lot is at stake here”? Is he threatening to annex the properties of
Igbo-Lagosians or create rooms for “abandoned properties”? Is Fashola
respectable and constitutionally knowledgeable enough to wear the toga of a SAN
or is he a Senior Advocate of Internal Deportation? Why would Governor Obi call
Governor Fashola to inform of the dumped deported citizens who were hurriedly
dumped at 3: am when the same Fashola did not deem it necessary to call him to inform him of the LASG’s plans to dump them in the State’s territory?
Finally, we thank Nigerians and the media immensely for
standing up against this perfidious constitutional violation by the Lagos State
Government. It is our collective warning that unless the action of the Lagos
State Government is checked and nipped in the bud; otherwise Nigeria will go up
in flames. There are limits to tolerance and multiple approaches to resistance
and self determination. One of them is disobedience. The Federal Government must be guided by the
fact that under the Constitution, no State including Lagos has any right or
power to engage in act of internal deportation of citizens from its federating
unit to another. Also, no State including Anambra State has any right or power
under the Constitution to receive or negotiate to receive any internally
deported citizens within the Federation. Any discussions or negotiations
between two States on how to deport or receive any citizens or to cause
forceful movement of same from one part of the country to another is null and
void and of no constitutional effect.
What Lagos State did amounts to treason or grave constitutional breaches
such as enforcing its laws and policies beyond its constitutionally defined
boundaries by way of internal displacement and illegal and extra-boundary
resettlement of Nigerian citizens against their will. The power and authority to enforce all laws
and policies in all parts of the Federation resides with the Federal Government
of Nigeria. Attached pictures 1 to 5 are
those of Citizen Osondu Agwu and others dumped in Onitsha by Governor Babatunde
Fashola on July 24, 2013.
Signed:
1. Comrade Uchenna Madu
For: Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State
of Biafra
2. Emeka Umeagbalasi
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the
Rule of Law
3. Comrades Aloysius Emeka Attah & Justus Uche Ijeoma
For: Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch
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