A serving member of the National Assembly is one of the sponsors of the secessionists currently pushing for independence from Nigeria, President Muhammdu Buhari revealed on Friday.
Buhari did not name the alleged sponsor, but said investigations were ongoing. He spoke in an Independence Day broadcast to make the country’s 61st anniversary.
“The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals,” he said.
“We are vigorously pursuing these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the national assembly.”
He said this was a clear example of how people abandon their national leadership positions for their selfish gains. “Instead of preaching unity, they are funding and misleading our youth to conduct criminal acts that sometimes lead to unfortunate and unnecessary loss of lives and property,” he pointed out.
Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, which is fighting for independence for Nigeria’s southeastern region. He is currently in custody after he was re-arrested in Kenya in July and repatriated back to Nigeria.
Kanu who had been standing trial on allegations of terrorism jumped bail and escaped from Nigeria before he was captured in the East African country.
On his part, Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, is the champion of the move for Yoruba Nation, which is pushing for independence for the people of Nigeria’s South West.
While Kanu is incarcerated in a prison in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Igboho is in jail in Nigeria’s neighbouring country, Benin Republic, where he was arrested as he fled Nigeria. Igboho ran away from Nigeria after Nigeria spy Police, the Department of State Services, declared him wanted following a rate on his house. The DSS had alleged it discovered a cache of assorted arms and ammunition at Igboho’s residence in the western city of Ibadan.
Buhari vowed to sustain the fight against those behind the separatist movements.
“We shall continue to work on dialogue-based solutions to address legitimate grievances. But we remain ready to take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national security,” he said.
He said the government would continue to improve the security architecture, reduce enabling environment for criminality to thrive, and eliminate opportunities for terrorism financing. This would be done with a greater level of peoples’ participation and in collaboration with our international partners, he said.
