Nigeria: Senate chief slams 'terrorist' tag for Igbo

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Senate chief Bukola Saraki on Monday found fault with the army's designation of Igbo secessionists as terrorists, saying the military did not follow “due process”.

"I wish to state that the announcement of the proscription of the group known as Indigenous People of Biafra [IPOB] by governors of the south-east states and the categorization of the group as a 'terrorist organization' by the Nigerian military are unconstitutional and does not follow due process,” Saraki said in a statement.

“Our laws make clear provisions for taking such actions and without the due process being followed, such declaration cannot have effect.

He urged the president to initiate the “right process” to deal with the issue.

“This will go a long way in demonstrating to the world at large that we are a country that operate by laid down process under every circumstance.”

Saraki also said parliament will debate the crisis when it resumes from recess, urging the military to be “hesitant in using force” on the secessionists.

A military operation in the southeast region continues where secessionist agitation allegedly turned violent in the past week when troops were deployed to curtail their activities.

“It is my view that we should not overstretch the military. We need to protect our military against dissipation of their fighting strength. And this means we need to strengthen the police and equip them with the capacity to deal with civil crisis,” he said.

On Monday, Nigeria accused secessionists of using fake videos of mass killings harvested from elsewhere in Africa to mislead the international community and garner foreign support.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed in a statement accused the IPOB of using "blatant lies and cheap propaganda".