- Cautions against targeting all Fulanis as terrorists
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has told President Muhammadu Buhari not to acquiescence to political solution by granting the request of Igbo elders to terminate the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), insisting that the judicial trial must go on.
Kanu is being held by the Department of State Services (DSS) and being tried by a Federal High Court Abuja on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony.
Buhari has said the demand for an unconditional release of Kanu is a difficult one, but he would consider the demand by Highly Respected Igbo Greats.
But the NEF Spokesperson, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said in a statement on Monday that there was no safe, constructive or informed ground for Buhari to grant the Igbo leaders’ request.
Baba-Ahmed said the President would do serious injury to the country if he delayed announcing that the judicial process in the case of Kanu must be allowed to run its course.
According to the Spokesperson of the Northern Nigerian dominant organisation, “the Forum notes that there are no safe, constructive or informed grounds for granting the request and advises that President Buhari will do serious injury to a country already threatened by multiple challenges to its security and territorial integrity if he delays announcing the only responsible response, which is that the judicial process in the case of Kanu must be allowed to run its course.”
The forum also called for clarity in the targets of the judicial decision to label bandits and kidnappers as terrorists, while cautioning against profiling and targeting of all Fulani as terrorists.
“Millions of law-abiding Fulani exist and should be encouraged to stay on the side of the law, while those who have chosen to continue on the path of criminality should feel the full weight of the law,” he said.