Wednesday, 21 October 2015

#NnamdiKanu, Buhari’s GESTAPO and unjust crackdown on Biafrans

#NnamdiKanu, Buhari’s GESTAPO and unjust crackdown on Biafrans
The recent arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and director of the Radio Biafra by agents of the Nigerian Secret Police, the Directorate of State Security (DSS) has confirmed that General Muhammadu Buhari has turned the DSS into a Hausa-Fulani Gestapo.  The DSS, which was meant to protect the lives of Nigerians have been turned into agents of terror. As a result Biafrans have began to disappear one after the other. At the last count up to 70 Biafrans have been abducted by DSS agents within the last few days. Like in the infamous Nazi regime, Buhari is using the Hausa-Fulani Gestapo to intimidate Biafrans. This culminated with the Gestapo-like kidnap and illegal detention of Nnamdi Kanu.

The Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei -  "Secret State Police") was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied territories in Europe. Hermann Göring (future commander of the Luftwaffe and the number-two-man in the Nazi Party) formed the unit in 1933. 

Goring was in charge of the Gespato for a while after  Rudolf Diels before handing over the reins of power to the dreaded head of the  Security Service (SS) Heinrich Himmler, on 20 April 1934. From that point it became more vicious and ruthless. 

Gestapo, under the direct command of Heinrich Müller. was among the most notorious of Nazi security agencies second to the SS. It operated very much above the law and acted with gross impunity. The Gestapo had the authority to investigate cases of treason, espionage, sabotage and criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and Germany. The basic Gestapo law passed by the government in 1936 gave the Gestapo carte blanche to operate without judicial review. Thus, putting it above the law. The Gestapo was specifically exempted from responsibility to administrative courts, where citizens normally could sue the state to conform to laws. 

The SS officer Werner Best, onetime head of legal affairs in the Gestapo, summed up this policy by saying, "As long as the police carries out the will of the leadership, it is acting legally."


The Gestapo had the power to abduct and incarcerate under the ruse called "protective custody", which was a euphemism for the power to imprison people without judicial proceedings. The prisoner would be forced to sign his own detection order, declaring that the he/she had requested imprisonment—presumably out of fear of personal harm.



Hitler meted out harsh measures to political opponents and those who resisted Nazi doctrine using agencies such as the Gestapo. Antipathy to Hitler and his regime was not tolerated, so the Gestapo had an important role to play in monitoring and prosecuting all who opposed Nazi rule, whether openly or covertly. 



The impunity of the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition, even students were not spared. Opposition members and organisations were constantly monitored by the Gestapo. Increasing religious objections to Nazi policies led the Gestapo to carefully monitor church organizations. The Nazi regime sought to suppress any source of ideology that runs contrary, and set out to muzzle or crush the churches. Some pastors, like the Protestant clergyman Dietrich Bonhoeffer, paid for their opposition with their lives.



The first five months of 1943 witnessed thousands of arrests and executions as the Gestapo exercised their powers over the German public. Student opposition leaders were executed in late February, and a major opposition organization, the Oster Circle, was destroyed in April 1943. Thousands of political prisoners throughout Germany and throughout the occupied territories (from 1941), simply disappeared while in Gestapo custody.



This is what Buhari is planning to turn the DSS into. An agency to unleash terror on opposition, especially Biafrans who strongly oppose the Islamic domination of Nigeria political space. Among the first few things Buhari did as soon as he 'overthrew' the Goodluck Jonathan's regime was to force out the former Director General of the DSS, Ita Ekpenyong in order to appoint one of his village men who has already retired from service to head the DSS. From that moment Biafrans in the agency were victimised and pushed aside while  Buhari's Hausa-Fulani kinsmen took charge of strategic positions in the agency. Ever since then it has been mayhem upon mayhem for Biafrans.
Nnamdi Kanu
Few days ago, agents of the DSS stormed the home of the leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra in the wee hours of the morning to abduct Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of the group. As Uwazuruike was not at home when the the DSS agents kidnapped virtually everyone on site. It was reported that up to 50 people were abducted by the agents.

A day after about seven members of the Indigenous People of Biafra in Asaba and a couple more in Port Harcourt were abducted by the DSS.


In similar fashion, DSS agents stormed the official residence of the Akwa Ibom state governor, in a very clear breach of the law. The action has been seen as a plot to kidnap the governor by Buhari through the DSS. Governors statutorily in Nigeria are given immunity and cannot be arrested while in office. However, Buhari is turning the DSS in to Gestapo, which operates above the law.
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemned the invasion of the Akwa Ibom government, describing the scenario as a reincarnation of the dark era of Lawal Rafindadi in the defunct National Security Organisation (NSO).

The acting National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who disclosed this in Abuja, alleged that the DSS invaded the government house with the motive of kidnap the governor, Udom Emmanuel.



Secondus spoke while receiving the Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, who led a delegation to submit his governorship re-election forms at the national headquarters of PDP.

He accused the DSS under Lawan Daura of almost executing a civilian coup d’état in the state as operatives of the security agency ransacked the entire Government House, in search of the governor.

Secondus, decried the action of the DSS, under its Director General, Lawan Daura, and warned that enough is enough.

The acting chairman said the action of the DSS was influenced by the plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government to forcefully take away PDP controlled states of Abia, Delta, Taraba, Rivers and Akwa Ibom at all cost, however, called on the international community to intervene before matters get out of hand.

Secondus who was visibly angry over the development, described Daura as a re-incarnation of the former DG of National Security Organisation, (NSO) under Lawal Rafindadi, who served under General Muhammadu Buhari, during his days as military dictator between 1984 to 1985.

The National Security Organisation, NSO which was established in 1976 metamorphosed into the DSS.


According to him, “Let me alert this nation that a few hours ago, there was a civilian coup d’état in Akwa-Ibom State where the Department of State Security headed by Lawan Daura invaded the Government House of Akwa-Ibom, ransacked the entire Government House, looking for the governor (Udom Emmanuel) to kidnap.

“Again, we want to alert this nation that this is part of the strategy of APC and its Federal Government to forcefully take Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Abia and Taraba States by force because they are not satisfied with the control of the Federal Government.

“They still want to take over by force all the states controlled by PDP. This nation belongs to all, to both PDP and APC a situation where consistently, the DSS has assaulted states controlled by PDP, the international community should be aware of what is going on. Is this democracy? Is this how PDP ruled in 16 years? Enough is enough.

“We want to advise and point out to the President that we will not tolerate this anti-democratic arrangement by APC and DSS because it will be a reincarnation of Rafindadi days when he was in charge of SSS. This is exactly the format. Daura is a reincarnation of Rafindadi. And Nigerians are not ready for what happened 30 years.”

He added that, “This is a clear warning that they should desist from taking laws into their hands.”


Related Stories:

Huge Protests ongoing in Biafraland in support for the release of the Biafran Leader Nnamdi Kanu

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