President Muhammadu Buhari says the Nigerian government is vigorously pursuing some high profiled citizens involved in sponsoring the agitations for secession by some Nigerians.
He made the revelation in his nationwide broadcast to citizens in commemoration of the country’s 61st independence anniversary.
The President further disclosed that the ongoing investigation regarding the recent arrest of leaders of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Yoruba nation led to the revelation.
He said: “The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals. We are vigorously pursuing these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the national assembly.”
President Buhari urged Nigerians to embrace dialogue as the main way of channeling and tackling their grievances.
“Our hope is not to fight for peace. We can always settle our grievances peacefully without spilling any blood. I will therefore take this opportunity, on this special day that symbolizes the unity and oneness of our great nation, to ask all Nigerians to embrace peace and dialogue, whatever your grievances.
“The seeds of violence are planted in people’s heads through words. Reckless utterances of a few have led to losses of many innocent lives and destruction of properties.
“Such unfiltered and unsubstantiated lies and hate speeches by a few evil persons must be stopped. Our media houses and commentators must move away from just reporting irresponsible remarks to investigating the truth behind all statements and presenting the facts to readers,” he said.
He assured that government will continue to provide dialogue-based solutions to the grievances of citizens.
“Nigeria is for all of us. Its unity is not negotiable. And its ultimate success can only be achieved if we all come together with a common goal of having peace and prosperity for our nation.
“We shall continue to work on dialogue based solutions to address legitimate grievances. But we remain ready to take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national security.,” the President pledged.
