Buhari was keen on signing the proclamation before his departure for New York in order to have the right response at the UN general assembly.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly signed a presidential proclamation proscribing the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to a report by THISDAY, the move is to take the heat off the army and to ensure that due process is followed.
It
was further reported that the president signed the proclamation on
Sunday, September 17, 2017, before his departure for the UN General
Assembly in New York.
The report also
revealed that a source in the attorney-general’s office explained that
the presidency had effectively initiated the formal process of
proscribing IPOB in accordance with the provisions of the Terrorism
(Prevention) Act, 2011”, and that “it had also paved the way for the
attorney general of the federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) to head to court to give legal backing to the presidential proclamation”.
Nnamdi Kanu(The News Chronicles)
It
also cited sources as saying Buhari was keen on signing the proclamation
before his departure for New York in order to have the right response
in the event that the question over the declaration by the army was
posed by other world leaders who have been watching events in Nigeria.
“The
issue was extensively debated between Buhari, the AGF and other aides
before he left for the UN General Assembly and the president decided to
sign the declaration before leaving for New York, so he could say that
due process was being followed if the question was raised by other world
leaders at the UN,” the report quoted the sources as saying.
On Friday, September 15, 2017, the defence headquarters (DHQ) declared IPOB a “militant terrorist” organisation.
South-east governors subsequently issued a statement, proscribing the group.
On Monday, Senate President Bukola Saraki
described the action of the military and the governors as
unconstitutional saying due process was not followed in the
proclamation.
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