Omeri: Suspected terrorists are Nigerians, not northerners

Following accusation that northerners are the target of security agents based on the arrest of 486 persons in Abia State on Sunday, Dr. Mike Omeri, director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), has appealed to Nigerians to guard against unfounded utterances that could cause disaffection and further heighten the tension in the country.

Speaking during an interview with AIT, Omeri, who made specific reference to Arewa Consultative Forum’s allegation of bias against the north, said the fight against terrorism is not in anyway discriminatory.

“I want to emphasize that it is nobody’s agenda to fight against any part of the country. Curbing the insurgency is not a crusade against either the north or any part of the country,” Omeri said.

“I heard people describing them as northerners. This is wrong and derogatory; we are Nigerians for God’s sake. This fight is not intended against anybody. We have non-northerners in that group. These people are not northerners, southerners, westerners or easterners; they are either Nigerians or non-Nigerians, and nobody has said they are insurgents.”

He expressed worries that such huge number of people who did did not know their destination were travelling at such period of the day. He added that finding a terror kingpin among them raises a big cause of concern amid the high rate of insecurity in the country.

“How do you explain 35 identical buses travelling in the middle of the night in one direction. Even if you are not a security personnel, it is enough reason for suspicion and so they were stopped for check,” he said.

“The information available to me is that some of them didn’t even know where they are going; some of them had less than N100 in their pockets. So if they are economic refugees, they should know where they were going and what they want to do, wherever they were going.

“However in the course of search, one person urinated on himself, probably because of the fear of being caught. Also, two of the buses and the occupants fled in the course of check.”

Omeri maintained that the suspects would be conclusively investigated and anyone found innocent will be freed, while those found wanting would be prosecuted.

ACF had accused the security agents of arresting innocent citizens based on their faith, origin and appearance.

The men, all aged between 16 and 24, were being conveyed in 33 buses when they were arrested at the road between Aro-Ngwa and Imo Gate along the expressway by soldiers assigned to the 144 battalion.

Omeri also announced that the Safe School Initiative (SSI) promised by the president has commenced.

He said coordinating minister of the economy and minister of finance, Dr. Okonjo Iweala, led a team of the initiative to Maiduguri on Wednesday.

“The initiative seeks to make schools safe for learning especially in troubled parts of the country. It came into being after the abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014,” he said.

He also expressed hope that the abducted girls would soon be released, and urged Nigerians to trust the security agents in face of the country’s challenges.

“It needs timing, planning and a unique kind of approach,” he said.

“Let us allow the professionals who are out there to continue doing their work of protecting us, helping to ensure that the girls are returned and  communities are safe again for our children to go to school.”