Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to stop its security operatives from attacking members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Fani-Kayode made the call while condemning the clash between IPOB members and security operatives in Enugu that left some people dead on Sunday.
In a series of tweets, the former Minister warned that the ranks of IPOB would continue to swell if the security continues to attack them.
According to Fani-Kayode: “I deplore and condemn the slaughter of young IPOB members in Enugu yesterday by the FG-controlled security forces. Butchering innocent and defenceless young people who were not carrying arms simply because they were having a meeting does not make sense & does not help matters.
“Rather it strengthens their cause, hardens their hearts, emboldens their resolve, legitimises their struggle and wins them sympathy and new friends all over the world. It is also a crime against humanity and those that carry out such murderous operations and dole out such orders become automatic candidates for the ICC at the Hague.
“Repression fuels the struggle for liberation and freedom rather than stifle it. The more IPOB youths are killed the more their ranks will swell. I call on the Buhari administration to stop this open display of madness and gratuitous violence against its own citizens and to be more tolerant, accommodating and restrained.I call for a cessation of hostilities and state-sponsored violence & on the FG to lift the ban on IPOB and enter into negotiations with them before it is too late.
“We must build bridges and not burn them. We must have the courage to talk to those who we may disagree with but who genuinely feel hurt and aggrieved and bring them back to the table.
“We must find a more civilised and humane way to resolve our differences.”
