The Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, Onueze CJ Okocha has posited that Rivers State has
never been at war with the Igbos of the South-East.
Okocha, who was reacting to the curfew imposed on Oyigbo Local
Government Area of the State by the government, asserted that the
decision of the State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, based on the advice
of the State Security Council, was constitutional and done in good
faith.
He described the incident that happened in Oyigbo, where members of the
proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, killed ten (10) security
operatives leading to the imposition of curfew in the area as
unfortunate.
Okocha in Port Harcourt on Wednesday said Rivers State and the Igbos
have always enjoyed cordial relationships in areas of marriage and
trading, adding that the two groups were not ready to be at dagger
heads.
The SAN stated that over 60 per cent of businesses in the state was
owned by the Igbos, regretting why some individuals would be fanning
embers of war among the two groups.
He said, “Our relationship is very cordial, it is only these political
boundaries of states of the federation that have tend to divide people.
Igbos control 50 to 60 per cent of commercial activities in Rivers
State. I have many of them as my friends.
“I wonder why anybody will raise this banner of ethnic jingoism. We have
never as Rivers people had a problem with Igbos. Most of us, including
myself, my mother came from Onitsha, which is one major kingdom in
Igboland.”
Okocha noted that many Igbos have been appointed to serve in the state
as commissioners, Special Advisers and heads of Ministries of Government
under Governor Wike, wondering why some people would claim Igbos were
hated by the state.
“So why should anybody begin to allege oh, some of us don’t like Igbos
and I heard that unfortunate label being labeled as an accusation that
our Governor hates the Igbo. How can? There are Igbos in his government
who are serving in Rivers State. How many Rivers people are in any
government, cabinet, in that matter, in anywhere else apart from Rivers
state.
“But Igbos are serving in the Governor’s cabinet, Yoruba are on his
advisory council, are on his executive council and many of them are
activists here in Rivers State. we have even had a political
organisation call Indigenes Without Border,” he said.
The legal luminary explained that the governor had the constitutional
right to impose curfew on any part of the state under him if there are
threats of breakdown of law and order to avert anarchy.
Okocha said it was wrong for the banned IPOB members to cause public
unrest in the state having been proscribed by law, adding that the
governor acted in defense of law and order, as it was a constitutional
responsibility of government.
“So it is totally unlawful for anybody to begin to carry that banner of
Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and begin to wreak the kind of havoc
that we saw played out in some parts of Port Harcourt. Mile One, Mile
Two area, Emenike, Ikokwu axis, and then in Oyigbo, a place which is the
neighbouring town between us and Abia State. Most unfortunate.
“Lawlessness and unlawful assemblies ought not to tolerated in a country
that is working to have law and order, and peace to face the development
of our country. So it was very unfortunate.”
He explained that in any part of a state where there is a breakdown of
law and order, a Governor is constitutionally obliged to impose a
curfew, which was exactly what Governor Wike.
“But he has assessed the security situation and based on the advice he
got from the security agencies, I believe he was perfectly justified to
impose curfew in those parts of the state where there was a total
breakdown of law and order,” he stated.