By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - The parliament on Tuesday urged a secessionist group in the country's southeast to shun hate speech and voice their grievances democratically.
Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the House of Representatives, said Nigeria is a constitutional democracy with a clear legal framework to resolve differences.
In a speech welcoming lawmakers back from a two-month recess, he said: “Anyone who assaults our constitution will not find a partner here [in the parliament] because our oath of office repels it, but those who stand for justice, fairness and equity will have partners in us because our oath of office compels it.”
Nigeria is currently mired in secessionist agitations led by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which wants a separate homeland for Igbo, the country's third-largest ethnic group.
Accusing the group of violence and hate speech, the government has declared it a terrorist organization.
Dogara said the parliament will work with groups who abide by the law, regardless of creed or ethnicity.
“No nation can truly be first class if it harbors within its borders second or third-class citizens,” he added.
Dogara also condemned alleged hate speeches by members of the Igbo secessionist group.
“Of course all healthy democracies are noisy. But they are filled with noise that elicits debate not noise that incites to violence,” he said.
“When speech or noise leads to debate its called free speech, but when noise or speech incites violence then that is hate speech. Hate speech has no place in a democracy and must never be tolerated or allowed,” he added.
The senate chief Bukola Saraki echoed similar sentiments in his address, saying: “A house divided against itself will not stand. More than ever before, we need to stand for the unity and indivisibility of our country.”
“We must condemn in the strongest possible terms all forms of violence as a form of engagement. The constitution and law has laid down tools and procedures for us to push through our interest as all democratic nations do,” he added.
Earlier this month, in violence which the government blamed on the secessionist group, deaths were reported in the southeastern Abia state and the oil-rich Delta and Rivers states. The group denied being behind the attacks.