Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has warned the Nigerian army against assaulting indigenes of the state.
Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had clashed with soldiers during the Operation Python Dance in Abia State.There have been reports that soldiers were extorting indigenes and also arresting and torturing some of them.
The governor urged the Commander of the 14 Brigade, Nigeria Army Ohafia, Brig.-Gen. Adul Ibrahim to monitor the soldiers.
He said the state will not condone the abuse of human rights of indigenes.
The statement read in part, “While the state government has always indicated its preparedness to cooperate with all security agencies in their lawful operations within the state, we shall not condone a situation where the presence of the Army in the state becomes a platform to (trample on) the human rights of our people and subject them to inhumane and degrading treatments without any lawful excuse.
“The Government of Abia State shall no longer condone this unwarranted assault on the people of the state. Our people, as law-abiding citizens, deserve their basic freedom and fundamental rights to life, personal liberty and dignity of the human person.
“These rights are guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the same law from which the Army derives its authority. These rights can only be tampered with in accordance with laid-down legal procedures and not according to the caprices of individual Army officers.”
