Over 50,000 protesters drawn from different civil society organizations, on Thursday, September 28, 2017, stormed the United States of America Embassy in Abuja to protest the alleged support of some of its citizens for the Indigenous People of Biafra [IPOB].
While addressing the crowd, the Coordinator of the protest, Comrade Richard Augustine,
frowned at the stance of the US in going against the Nigerian
government's position which declared the IPOB as a terrorist group.
Comrade
Augustine stressed that instead of the US helping the government in the
fight against terrorists in the country, they are tacitly giving
support to an organization whose aim is to divide the nation as well as
causing chaos among its citizens.
Beginning his strongly worded address, Comrade Augustine said:
"People
of the world, let it be known that we respect the United States a lot.
We will, therefore, not want to believe stories that certain persons in
the US Mission in Nigeria have been funding the activities of the
Indigenous People of Biafra, for the twisted intent to destabilize our
country.
For the records, IPOB
was declared a terrorist organization by the order of a competent
Federal High Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This
order was properly captured as the 'Terrorism Prevention Proscription
Order Notice, 2017', as contained in Volume 104 of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria Official Gazette.
This makes it disgusting that a mere spokesperson for the US Embassy in Abuja, Russel Brooks,
can now elevate himself to the status of a higher tribunal to
second-guess the institution empowered by law to make such declaration.
It is ridiculous that the US Embassy was here in Nigeria all the time IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, saturated and suffocated the public space with hate speech and did not seem it fit to urge restraint.
It must also be recalled that Nnamdi Kanu solicited for arms from IPOB US-based members.
In many of their propaganda, IPOB terrorists and leader, Nnamdi Kanu, do not hide the fact that they are counting on the United States to succeed in destroying Nigeria.
There
is still room for the United States to stand on the right side of
history by either declaring its neutrality or accepting that IPOB is
what Nigerian laws say it is; a terror organization that must be
immediately dismantled. The United States will do well to stay out of
what it is not competent to interfere with.
Nigerians
have learned not to evaluate the threats confronting them with American
templates that have never addressed its own problems with violent and
terrorists related killing on its own soil.
We,
therefore, state clearly, dear United States of America, it is Nigerian
laws for Nigerian interest and in this matter, it is Nigeria first,
Nigeria always."