Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has described the sit-at-home directives in the Southeast as the handiwork of a criminal enterprise.
In a statement posted on his official Twitter page on Thursday, Obi said the sit-at-home orders are not issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), while calling on security agencies to take urgent steps to deal with the heightened insecurity and crime across the country.
The former Anambra State governor commended Southeastern governors for their efforts in curbing criminal activities in the region, and called for more strategic and intelligence-driven approaches to reduce the suffering on citizens.
“The situation in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau state has raised a lot of anxiety because of the number of lives and properties lost with very little resistance from security operatives,” Obi said.
“Also disturbing is the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East region over the Sit-at-Home directive purported to be coming from the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, when the body has publicly denied issuing such directive.
“What is going on in the South East therefore is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike.
“The South East Governors are to be commended for their renewed efforts at curbing this menace but there is a need to be more strategic and intelligence-driven in our approach to reducing the suffering of innocent people.
“Security agencies should take necessary and quick steps to arrest the ugly incidents because the country cannot just be spilling the blood of innocent citizens.
“We as a people through our various governments should up our value for human lives in the way and manner we respond to issues that touch lives.
“The implications of an insecure environment for development are far-reaching because no investor will consider going to an area where their resources will not be safe and secured.”
Obi called on religious, traditional leaders and stakeholders to continue pushing for peace among their people, and called on governments at all levels to take urgent steps to address the widespread poverty and youth unemployment in the land.
“Therefore, I will like to urge critical stakeholders in these areas, traditional, Christian, and Muslim leaders to continue pushing for peace among their people in the way and manner they conduct themselves,” he said.
“The various governments at all levels should also take deliberate steps to address the issue of poverty and youth unemployment because the provision of stomach infrastructure is the surer way to tackle insecurity.
“Also, urgent steps should be taken consciously and intentionally to ameliorate the hardship of the people.”
