December 14, 2000
His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed ForcesAso Rock, Abuja Nigeria.
RE: The Invasion of Okigwe Township by a combined team of the Military and Police Forces
Your Excellency:
We, as concerned citizens of Nigeria and the undersigned members have been following events in our dear country with all avidity and commitment. We use the cyberworld as a daily platform to digest the news and offer solutions to the problems ravaging and consuming Nigeria.
Your Excellency, we read in THISDAY and UNIRIN of December 4, 2000 information about the deployment of a combined team of the military and police forces in Okigwe Township, Imo State. It was also revealed that the operation was carried out to effect arrest of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of the ‘Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra’ (MASSOB). As passionate observers of political events in Nigeria, we have noticed the non-violent disposition of MASSOB, its leader, Chief Uwazuruike, and its members. The peaceful approach that MASSOB has adopted was manifested during the Igbo Day activities last September, as well as the peaceful Reburial, on the same occasion, of the fallen victims of Nigeria’s civil war and other crises. We recognize that government has legitimate interest in identifying and punishing violations of law and breaches of security. However, we are fully conscious that government has the means to carry out her duties without resorting to repressive and brutal means, including the indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens, the harassment, brutality, and extra-judicial killing of alleged suspects, as has occurred in Okigwe.
Mr. President, it may be necessary to remind you that Nigeria now operates a democratic government, where the rule of law should be the guiding principle. In this democratic setting there are bound to be dissenting voices, which have rights to free expression and freedom to peaceable assembly under law. To the best of our knowledge, MASSOB’s activities are in accord with norms and practices in well-established democracies across the globe, as well as the dictates of the Constitution you swore to uphold.
Mr. President, for the past 30 years, Nigerians have suffered and were subjugated under successive military dictatorships. They fought with their God-given determination and prayers to free themselves from the yoke of military despotism. Hence, we were ecstatic that democracy returned to our land and you, as a civilian, emerged as the Captain of the Nigerian ship of state. Thus, it is especially disheartening and disappointing to now witness frequent military deployments, arrests, and killings of defenseless and unarmed citizens of Nigeria. These actions constitute extreme provocation and can only breed a lack of faith in our hard-won democracy.
We recall vividly the attack by your government on Odi and the consequent destruction of that town and many of the lives of its people. Nigerians, in the spirit of forgiveness accepted your regrets for that event. We noted your subsequent and famous restraint in the Sharia religious killings in Kaduna, as well as your restraint in dealing with the Ife/Modakeke riots, and the OPC/Hausa riots in Shagamu and Lagos. These events combined are of a magnitude comparable to the carnage and destruction observed during the Civil war, and do not whatsoever compare with the peaceful and non-violent protests of MASSOB. We take special notice that government has failed to extend to MASSOB the same measure of caution and restraint that characterizes your administration’s handling of the Sharia conflagrations.
Mr. President, a nation cannot progress without fairness and equity in the administration of the laws of the nation. We have consistently observed brutal military responses by your government to developments in the Niger-Delta and the Southeastern parts of Nigeria. Your government has a track record of uninhibited deployment of troops to these regions. This observation calls into doubt your willingness to implement the rules of justice, fairness, and equity enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Thus, we as patriotic citizens of Nigeria feel the need to express our revulsion at this latest development in Okigwe.
Mr. President, we are shocked, aggrieved and filled with outrage at this latest rape of the fundamental rights of our people. We, therefore, unequivocally state:
a) That we believe in a Nigeria where the rule of law must be obeyed by all and sundry in our polity without partiality to the rights of some at the expense of others.
b) That a judicial enquiry be set up to ascertain the causes and extent of damage done in Okigwe.
c) That all necessary compensation be paid to those whose properties were destroyed and families bereaved by this dastardly act.
d) That the Federal Government of Nigeria cease forthwith the deployment of the military to arrest Nigerians, reserving this to the organ of government, the Nigeria Police Force, that is constitutionally empowered to perform this role.
e) That the causes of incessant civil unrests in the country be unearthed and fully addressed by the government and people of Nigeria working as partners.
Your Excellency, these are our modest demands and it is our hope that you would attend to them urgently for the greater good of the country and to the Glory of Almighty God.
Sincerely yours,
Concerned Nigerian Citizens
1. Steve U. Nwabuzor, Ph.D.- Michigan USA
2. Emeka J. Amanze, Esq.- Maryland USA
3. Philip Adekunle- Louisville, Kentucky USA
4. Nnamdi Nwuda- Upland, California USA
5. Dr. S. C. Enwere- London, England UK
6. Jude Uzonwanne- New York USA
7. Ekene Awuzie- Boston, Massachusetts USA
8. Samuel Johnson, M.D.- Atlanta, Georgia USA
9. Ignatius O. Ekpe- Dallas, Texas USA
10. Jude Ezeigwe, Engr.- Brooklyn, New York USA
11. Ambrose Ehirin- Los Angeles, California USA
12. Joy T. Okafor- Dallas, Texas USA
13. Dave Ituru- Anchorage, Alaska USA
14. Anthony Esealuka- Madison, Wisconsin USA
15. Sunny Azubuike- Atlanta, Georgia USA
16. Tunde Onabanjo- Columbus, Ohio USA
17. Achebe Okongwu- Los Angeles, California USA
18. Ade Olajide- Concord, New Hampshire USA
19. Tim Ukaoha- Toronto, Ontario CANADA
20. Oluropo Rufus Ayodele-Edmonton, Alberta CANADA
21. Damian Njoku- USA
22. Laolu Akande- New York USA
23. Egwuatu Ozoemena- Saratoga, California USA
24. I. G. Nwafor- Smyrna, Georgia USA
25. Wole Okunowo- Georgia USA
26. Rudolf Okonkwo- Lynn, Massachusetts USA
27. Agbe Adebayo- London, England UK
28. Manny Agrinya- New Jersey USA
29. Boniface Ijemere, Ph.D.- Miami, Florida USA
30. Adiele Nwanyanwu, M.D.- Stevens Point, Wisconsin USA
31. Paul Ibekwe- Buffalo, New York USA
32. Chuck Odili- Charlotte, North Carolina USA
33. Abel "Ojoto" Douglas- Laguna Nigel, California USA
34. Richard C. Uzoigwe, M.D.- Little Rock, Arkansas USA
35. Ononuju Nwanaga- Athens, Ohio USA
36. Ganiyu Adegboye- Sandy, Utah USA
37. Festus Uzodinma Okpara, M.D.- Ferriday, Louisiana USA
38. Nurudeen Shobayo- Wilmington, Delaware USA
39. Ezenwa Michael Dinaotu, Ph.D.- London, England UK
40. Joseph Onyeocha- South Carolina USA
41. Mazi Titus Nwek Njokwere- Arlington, Texas USA
42. Marcus Okubaniyi, Ph.D.- Detroit, Michigan USA
43. Nkemdirim Uche Obi- Lompoc, California USA
44. Casmir Igbegbulem- Inglewood, California USA
45. Victor Adewusi- USA
46. Iyke Onwuneme- Youngsan, Seoul KOREA
47. M. A. Bankole- London, England UK
48. Ajibola Robinson- Maryland USA
49. Bunmi Palmer- California USA
50. Seun Oshodi- California USA
51. Onyekachi Osuchukwu- Calverton, Maryland USA
52. Nnanwa Eric Mmaji, Ph.D.- Tucson, Arizona USA
53. Kanu Enuma Kanu, CPA- St. Louis, Missouri USA
54. Ogechi Onyeogazie, JD- Seattle, Washington USA
55. Ikechukwu Nnamdike, Ph.D.- Nagoya Aichi JAPAN
56. Ejike Ejiogu- Detroit, Michigan USA
57. Col. Kajethan Obikwere- Rock Island, Illinois USA
58. Femi Adeboye, Pharm.D- Madison, Wisconsin USA
59. Nkem Eugene Ejiofor- Glostrup DENMARK
60. Nnodi Dubem Ikejiani, M.D.- Owasso, Oklahoma USA
61. Tobechukwu Emma Orisakwe- 8th Base USAF, Seoul KOREA
62. Jideofor Philip Mbanefo, Esq.- GI, Nebraska USA
63. Olugbenga Adeyemi- Helsinki FINLAND
64. LT. Olufunmi Johnson- FT. Leon’d Wood, Missouri USA
65. Ayokunle Ogunshola- Eatontown, New Jersey USA
66. Onumere Nkagu- San Jose, California USA
67. Ejikeme Obasi- USA
68. Magnus I. Ekwueme- Texas USA
Cc.
President of the Senate, Senator Pius Anyim,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Na’Abba
Governors of the 36 States in the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Major Nigerian Newspapers and Media Houses.