Orji Uzor Kalu says protesters are right

monjola sotubo

December 8, 2015 6:01 PM

Kalu however said that there was no reason for the demonstrators to resort to violence in making their demands

Orji Uzor Kalu

Former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu has said that the pro-Biafra protesters have a right to demonstrate and demand for self-determination.

Kalu however said that there was no reason for the demonstrators to resort to violence in making their demands, Vanguard reports.

The former governor made the comments on Tuesday, December 8, 2015, while addressing newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

“Those boys are right, they have a right to demonstrate, but not violent demonstration, not killing soldiers because if I am a Commander- in -Chief, and you kill one of my soldiers, I will kill everybody,” Kalu said.

“You cannot kill soldiers. You cannot kill police. You have a right to say no, we want our own Republic. The United Nations charter gives them the right to ask for self-determination. It is not a right of determination to go and destroy people’s properties, to go and destroy Nigerian Armed Forces, whether it is Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy or Nigerian Police. These are not the rights. They have the right to speak for self-determination. This is the full right.

“If I am president, I will set up either traditional rulers or some political leaders to go and ask the boys what they really want, what is really their problem, what can be done to stop them from asking for this. This is how Boko Haram started killing members of Catholic Church, and as a Catholic, I spoke vehemently against it. I told you airport correspondents that they will finish killing the Catholic and will go and start killing everybody and it happened.

“So, I will advise the Federal Government. This is a federation, you need to manage the federation. Some people must ask for self-determination. It is the management of the people that matters. President Buhari, as a matter of fact, should set out traditional rulers, set out people, set out securities and intelligent agencies to intervene.

"They should be more intelligent than policemen or military people carrying guns. They should find a way and tell the boys that what they are doing is not the right thing to do. So, it is left for the Federal Government. This is the right time to nip the agitation in the bud, but not by force. It is a wrong strategy hearing people saying that we will quench it by force. We cannot quench anything by force because it is their right to ask for self- determination," he added.

The ongoing pro-Biafra agitation was sparked off by the arrest of Radio Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Kanu was arrested at a hotel in Lagos on October 17, and reportedly granted bail but never freed.

He was arraigned in an Abuja court on November 23 and the case was adjourned till December 1.

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Meanwhile, the DSS is seeking to charge Kanu with terrorism after it accused him of participating in and sponsoring terrorist acts.

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