A coalition of self-determination groups led by a United States of America-based self-determination movement, the United Indigenous People of African Foundation, otherwise known as the UNIPA Foundation, has sent a message to the governors in the Southern and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria.
The collation called on the governors to invoke the Doctrine of Necessity and the provisions of Chapter VII, article 51 of the United Nations Charter on Self-Defense by buying arms for their respective regional security outfits, including training and re-training of local vigilantes and hunters in their domains to protect their people.
The coalition commends Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State for what it described as a “bold step taken to confront a state of terror” by arming the newly created state security outfit, known as Community Volunteer Guards.
It called on other governors in the South and Middle-Belt regions of Nigeria to establish their state security outfits backed by laws for self-defence.
The coalition urged the governors to divert the resources they are currently using to fund Nigeria Police, military and civil defence corps to fund, for instance, Amotekun Corps in Yoruba land and train passionate local hunters and vigilantes within their regions.
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UNIPA Foundation also described the State Indigene Bill currently being sponsored by some members of the House of Representatives from the North as part of an alleged ‘Fulanisation’ agenda.
If passed into law, non-indigenes shall be constitutionally recognised as indigenes of their states of residence once they have spent five years therein and are eligible to enjoy the same rights indigenous people enjoy.
It described it as an affront to the Indigenous people and a “smart” move to allegedly formally legalise the land-grabbing agenda of the Fulani oligarchy in the regions and to legitimatise the presence of illegal foreign Fulani militias that will now operate freely within all states and turn Nigeria into a battleground as was seen in Sudan and Rwanda.
The UNIPA Foundation, with global headquarters in New York, United States, is a Movement that seeks to unite and galvanise indigenous people across the continent of Africa towards reclaiming or establishing their nationhood and safeguarding, recovering and sustaining their political, social and economic rights and assets through legal engagements and media advocacies.
Members of the UNIPA-led coalition in Nigeria are Oodua People’s Sovereign Movement (OPSOM), Ohanaeze Youth Council, Freedom From Nigeria (FFN), Conscience of Niger/Delta Forum (CONDEF), Middle-Belt Patriotic Front, Concerned Indigenous Nigerians in Georgia, the United Middle-Belt and Igbo National Council (INC).
“We have watched in aghast as Nigeria is currently drifting into a state of terror. The common people are no longer safe anywhere. People are kidnapped from their bedrooms, places of worship, farms, highways, etc. The ruling elites with bulletproof cars and jackets are kidnapped for ransom on a daily basis,” the spokesperson for the coalition, Joseph Ekwo said in a statement.
“Benue State, known as Food Basket of the Nation is now the capital of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria with 27 IDP camps and almost two million IDPs with no thanks to the activities of marauding Fulani Terrorists.
“We are suggesting to the Governors in the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria to domesticate their resources and stop funding the Civil Defence, Police and Military Armed Forces that do not take instructions from them.
“The billions of naira governors spend monthly to purchase arms, utility vehicles and other security gadgets for central-controlled security formations should be diverted to the funding of Amotekun and other passionate local vigilantes and hunter groups who should be subjected to periodic training and re-training.
“We also urge the governors in the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria to domesticate laws that would officially declare any herdsmen found with AK47 guns as terrorists. We are calling on them to form Armed Farming Guards to protect farmers and their farms from attacks by Fulani herdsmen and other aggressors whose intent appears to be disrupting the food supply to achieve mass starvation of the indigenous people.
“Governors should also make provisions for all people who have been displaced from their land, lost their farms or their homes and ask the Nigerian government to adequately compensate them for their human and economic losses. The condition of those still in IDP camps must be significantly improved to make their temporary abodes habitable, provide adequate food, clean water, schools for the young, and law and order to protect the vulnerable.
“As a matter of urgent importance, Governors in the South and Middle-belt of Nigeria should mobilize the national assembly members in their territory to ensure that the State Indigene Bill that some Representatives of Fulani background want to pass in the National Assembly of Nigeria which enables non-indigene to become indigenes of where they reside after five years of residence is foiled and rejected.
“The bill, if allowed to be passed into law, will formalise the complete overtaken of all the land in the south and middle-belt of Nigeria by a group that already boasted that all the land in Yoruba land belongs to their great-grandfathers. Being indigenes, they could become kings and kingmakers in the South and Middle-Belt lands. It is basically an extension of the land-grabbing agenda of the Nigerian Government after failing to foist RUGA on the indigenous people.
“Lastly, without prejudice to the rights to association of everyone, we state without any fear or favour or intimidation that the culture of installing Sarkin or Seriki Fulani in the South and Middle-Belt regions of Nigeria should be abolished by Governors from these zones. All these positions are not religious but traditional leadership positions, therefore, imposing these foreign “leaders” on the traditions of the Middle Belt to South appears to be an act of conquest.”
