FG links 2,671 confiscated rifles to Nnamdi Kanu

The federal government said on Tues that the 2,671 pump action rifles lawlessly imported from Turkey however intercepted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria Customs Service on four totally different occasions in 2017 alone can be connected to the leader of the autochthonic people of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

This was a part of the submission made by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent-Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata, while opposing IPOB’s motion filed before the Federal high court in Abuja to challenge the court’s order proscribing it and designating it as a terrorist organisation.

The federal government disclosed this in an exceedingly counter-affidavit filed by the office of the attorney General of the Federation and that was drum out to by a litigation officer within the Department of State Services, Mr. Ayuba Adam.

Adam, who disclosed in the counter-affidavit that IPOB was a violent group feigning to be non-violent, said a Turkish citizen, Abdukadir Erahraman, visited Kanu typically in July 2017 when he was urging “Biafrans to arise and fight a decent fight for freedom.”

Drawing a link between the Turkish citizen’s visit to Kanu and therefore the arms smuggled into Nigeria, the counter-affidavit added that the NCS had intercepted two,671 rifles smuggled from Turkey in 2017 alone.

The counter-affidavit scan in part, “That a Turkish citizen, Abdulkadir Erkahraman, visited Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the respondent/applicant in Isiama Afara, Umuahia, Abia State sometimes in July 2017, and has been electioneering support for the exponent agenda of the respondent/applicant. He also admonished Biafrans to arise and fight a decent fight for freedom.’

“That the Federal Republic of Nigeria Customs Service had on four occasions this year intercepted pump action rifles totalling 2,671 lawlessly imported into the country. Copies of the report on arms smuggling is connected herewith and marked as Exhibit FGN 2A and 2B.”

But IPOB, through an extra affidavit filed by its counsel, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on Monday, denied any link to the intercepted weapons.

The more affidavit declared, “That contrary to the inaccurate deposition in paragraph 6(h) of the applicant/respondent’s counter-affidavit that is denied, the alleged pump action rifles totalling 2,671, illicitly imported into the country from Turkey, wasn’t directly traced to Nnamdi Kanu or anyone related to him.”

The Acting Chief judge of the Federal high court, Justice Abdu Kafarati, had on september 20, 2017, made an order proscribing IPOB and designating it as a terrorist group upon an ex parte application by the attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN).

But in an exceedingly motion filed by the group before the same judge on September 22, the group contended that the proscription order was unconstitutional.

The motion was anchored on 13 grounds, initial of which was that the proscription order was made while not jurisdiction “as the order was granted against an entity unknown to law”.

The AGF office afterward filed a counter-affidavit justifying the proscription order of the court.

Justice Kafarati heard the two parties on Tues once that he adjourned till Jan 17 for ruling on whether or not or not the proscription of IPOB ought to be tabu.

But the federal government insisted on Tues that IPOB was a violent organisation.

It stated Kanu was toeing the path that led to the Rwandan killing by referring to Nigeria as a zoo.

It also cited a newspaper publication of September 18, 2017, within which the leader of the Biafra Independence Movement and founder of the renowned Movement for actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, Ralph Uwazuruike, “attested to the violent conducts of IPOB members once he condemned the attack on members of his group and killing of the policeman by IPOB supporters.”