The All Progressives Congress (APC) has come out to debunk reports that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has ordered the the relocation of Boko Haram detainees to Anambra State, saying the rumours were false.
Reacting to the development which saw youths in the state stage a protest, the APC in the South East region, through its Spokesman, Osita Okechukwu said: “We wish to categorically that the rumour making the rounds that Boko Haram detainees will be transferred to Anambra State or any other state for that matter is blatant falsehood. “We have made contacts with the Presidency, Nigeria Prison Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs and they have assured us that there is no iota of truth in the mischievous rumour.
“In the clarification, Nigeria Prison Service stated unequivocally that most of the terror suspects are awaiting trial and so there is no way they can be moved to another state because they must be tried in the state where they committed the crime.
“They went further to state that their primary and traditional duty is to move detainees from prison to trial courts and that moving high profile suspects from a distance more than 1000 kilometers from Maiduguri to Onitsha will be near to very difficult.
“We assure our people that the change President Muhammadu Buhari promised is real. The 2nd Niger Bridge, Federal Roads, Enugu Coal and other physical and social infrastructure in the South East will be revamped,” he said.
In a similar move the APC in Anambra State, through its Publicity Secretary, Okelo Madukaife said: “We have gathered that the traders and other unsuspecting citizens were used to obstruct free flow of traffic on federal highways, including entry points into Anambra State.
“The deployment of inmates to prisons around the country is a federal government affair guided by prime paramilitary considerations, and managed by the Nigerian Prisons Service to which all lawful authorities in Anambra State have access.
“There is no clear directive from the Nigerian Prisons Service or any other arm of the federal government of Nigeria under our knowledge that has been communicated or known to the Anambra public and as such, it is like moving in a whirlwind with the risk of endangering the lives of unsuspecting citizens to respond to any such whirlwind tales”.
“The decision to close markets and rob businessmen in those markets of the day’s earnings is a political whiff guided by a self-serving and self-preserving desire to incite the good people of Anambra State against the federal government and by extension the APC, particularly in Anambra State.
“We urge the good people of Anambra State to avoid building their lives around rumours, knowing that during the SAP Riots of 1989, many lives were lost before the nation understood that they were reacting to false rumours.
“Rather, we urge fellow citizens to strengthen access to official information and go about their normal and lawful businesses.
“We urge that all orders to close markets in Anambra State must be properly declared in order to avoid shifts in responsibility.”
