As a rsult of an allged relocation of about 40 Boko Haram detainees from the Northern zone of the country to Ekwulobia prisons in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra state, last Sunday, traders in the state, under the aegis of Anambra Markets Amalgamated Traders Association ( AMATAS ) and artisans, yesterday, vowed to stage what they termed as ‘mother of all’ protests today against the relocation exercise.
Disclosing this in a telephone interview, Publicity Secretary of AMATAS, Dede Uzor A. Uzor said since the federal government had refused to feel the pulse of the Anambra people last Saturday who closed markets in the state in protest against the move to relocate the prisoners and gone head to relocate the prisoners, traders and other stakeholders had concluded arrangements to stage a mother of all protests today.
Uzor, however, noted that markets would not be closed in today’s protest like that of last Saturday, adding that as time progressed they would fashion out more ways to tackle the idea because, ccording to him, instead of keeping the prisoners in Abuja prisons where there is adequate security, government deliberately decided to relocate them to Aguata prisons where there was less security network.They expressed the fear that with the prisoners inside Aguata prison, Boko haram members could capitalize on that to relocate to the Eastern part of the country and begin to launch violent attacks on the peaceful people of the East.
Asked to comment on the development, leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike declined comments, saying that those who were in support of one Nigeria should be in a better position to do the reaction by themselves.
Uwazuruike said: “From the onset, MASSOB did not believe in one Nigeria but many others like Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Governors believe in one Nigeria and it is their responsibility now to comment on it. If I say it is not good to relocate them it will be an over statement and if I say it is good, it will be an under statement but I want those who believe in one Nigeria to know that those prisoners are being relocated to any part of the same Nigeria, not outside Nigeria.
However, MASSOB’s Deputy National Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha in an SMS text, warned that if they hear any sound of bomb blast, as a result of this relocation exercise, they would retaliate with immediate effect because according to him, no particular group or sect had the monopoly of throwing bombs or causing violence.
.As at yesterday, there were conflicting reports of the actual number of prisoners that were relocated to Aguata prisons. Some said they were 40, while others said they were 47 but all efforts to get the true position from the prisons officials proved abortive as all of them maintained sealed lips.
On how the relocation idea was muted, security forces explained that the development was just an implementation of the existing federal government’s radicalization programme whereby violent criminals were radicalized and relocated to other prison custodies, a programme created under the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA.
