Nnamdi Kanu: Wike Dares Buhari To Arrest Miyetti Allah Militias, Bandits
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has challenged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to summon courage, show impartiality and effect the arrest of militia members of the Miyetti Allah, bandits and other criminal elements terrorising the country.
He threw the challenge at the president following the arrest, on Tuesday, of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
This was as the governor advised the Federal Government to ensure that rule of law and due process is followed in the prosecution of leader of Kanu.
Wike said, for the Federal Government to demonstrate its resolve to address insecurity crisis facing the country, the same dragnet deployed to arrest Kanu must as a matter of urgency be extended to bandits and Miyetti Allah militias terrorising the country.
He said conscientious effort must be made by the Federal Government to allay the fear of some Nigerians that Kanu is not being prosecuted because he comes from a particular section of the country.
The governor, who made the assertion during an interview on Arise Television, said, irrespective of the differences the arrested IPOB leader has with Rivers State government, he would suggest that due process must be followed in his prosecution.
“We must not make hullabaloo about the prosecution of Nnamdi Kanu. I don’t agree with his principle. I have come out and said you (Kanu) cannot annex my state to be your own. But that does not mean that you will not allow the law to take its course,” Wike said.
The governor insisted that government must arrest every wanted terrorist on its watchlist and ensure they are brought to book to face the full wrath of the law.
“You cannot afford to discriminate at this point. You cannot say because Nnamdi Kanu is from a particular area, let us prosecute him. The same thing must apply to all other people, the bandits, Myette Allah,” he said.
On the defection of some governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the governor said those who have defected are merely seeking protection from persecution and prosecution in the ruling party.
He explained that none of the governors who defected from the PDP have provided any cogent reason to justify their politically despicable act.
On the decision by the PDP to proceed to court against Zamfara State governor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle, to vacate his position following his defection to APC, Governor Wike said the party will be justified if that happens since it was the PDP that got the judgment that ushered him (Matawalle) to office.
Wike expressed optimism that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP will take all necessary legal measures to protect the Zamfara State deputy governor who refused to jump ship with Governor Matawalle.
He maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of his Special Assistant on Social Media, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), representing Delta State, has further demonstrated that he will not ensure free, fair and credible elections in 2023.
