The Presidency has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s reference to the Biafra-Nigerian civil war while threatening to deal with secession agitators was not promotion of hate, but a statement of fact.
Buhari’s senior media assistant, Garba Shehu, clarified the president’s controversial statement on Saturday.
The clarification came after Twitter deleted Buhari’s tweet for violating its “abusive behavior” policy.
Many Nigerians had also deemed the tweet as connoting threat of genocide against Igbos in Nigeria’s South East region.
The Biafra civil war which Buhari made reference to had resulted in the killing of over 2.5 million Igbos by Nigerian soldiers.
But Shehu said, “The tweet was not a threat, but a statement of fact,” adding that, “A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.”
The presidential aide explained that, “When the President said that they will be treated “in a language they understand,” he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security services response world over.
“This is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens’ right to freedom from harm. The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.
“IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.
“Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our country’s civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy.”
