By Kalu Nwokoro Idika
The executive governor of Anambra State, professor Chuwkuma Soludo, says his administration has offered “amnesty” to Biafra agitators in the state.
Soludo made this known on Sunday during an interview with Channels Television.
In the last two years, the south-east region have been in the eye of the storm, including Anambra state, over the activities of criminal elements operating as unknown gunmen.
On Sunday, gunmen attacked a patrol team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra, which led to the unfortunate death of two operatives.
Speaking on the issue, Soludo said his administration is ready to rehabilitate and offer skill acquisition training to those willing to surrender.
“Within the agitation movement, we have to agree that there are now factions. There are various factions. There is one led by one guy in Finland called Simon Ekpa,” he said.
“IPOB has come out to accuse that group of being the one behind much of the criminality taking place in the south-east. It is a very huge positive development.
“A lot of them in the bush out there are having camps here and there. They come out to kidnap and kill. Once we isolate all the groups that are not involved in this, then we can focus on the criminals.
“We have also offered them some kind of amnesty. Come out, give us your guns, we are prepared to give you training in whatever skills, even if we have to raise resources to empower you to become useful partners in the development of society.”
On the agitation for secession in the south-east, Soludo said an ideology cannot be killed through the use of guns, adding that it is pertinent to understand the root cause of the problem.
“A time comes when you realise that you cannot shoot an ideology with a gun. When you see it exclusively as a law enforcement matter, then you miss the point. You’ve got to engage them,” he said.
The governor said his administration will set up a truth and reconciliation commission.
“This (referring to insecurity) is something we need to engage very seriously,” he added.
“We are taking it very seriously with an open manner to engage everyone and believing that everyone has some contribution to make. To the criminals, we are offering them an olive branch to repent.”
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