THE All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has been told to account for his role on January 29, 1969 coup d ‘etat, during which about 300 Igbo people were slaughtered.

Director of Media of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, made the demand during a press conference he addressed in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, calling on the South-East voters to shun the APC presidential candidate at the polls.

He said he was in the area to attend some caucus meetings, during which the alleged role of Buhari against the Igbos during the Civil War became a recurring issue.

The campaign spokesperson stated that the role played in the massacre of defenceless Igbos by the army division in which Buhari served, was part of the questions that was to have been put to Buhari during the sitting of the Justice Chukwudufu Oputa-led panel which he shunned.

He added that it was important Buhari addressed the issues now that he is seeking to become the president of the country.

Fani-Kayode said: “We attended caucus meetings with them and the questions that kept coming up on the issue of the presidential election centred on the role Buhari played in the very sad events of the night of January 29, 1966, when a coup d’état took place in our country, during which no fewer than 300 Igbo army officers, a sitting head of state, General Aguiyi-Ironsi and a serving governor of the old Western Region, Colonel Fajuyi, were killed in the most brutal fashion in less than 24 hours.

“It is important for us to look into this today, considering the fact that Buhari is aspiring to be the next president of Nigeria.

“The Nigerian people have a right to know the truth about Buhari’s role in the tragic events of that night, as they do not deserve to be kept in the dark. We deserve to know who did what, who to and how many times. That is the message I got from most of the Igbo leaders I met on this tour and that is certainly the feeling of most Nigerians. The days of feeding our people with half-truth and telling them not to discuss the ugly events of the past which were long over. It does not stop there.

“The other issues that were raised centred on the role Buhari allegedly played during the very tragic events in the core north in the mid 60s just before the Civil War, when no fewer than 100,000 innocent and defenceless Igbo civilians, mainly women and children, were killed within a period of three months by irate and armed local mobs.

“Many have asked and wondered whether it was true that Buhari was amongst those that covertly orchestrated and encouraged those killings, as well as supported the slaughter of those innocent and helpless citizens. We consider this issue most relevant today, because this same man, who some people have alleged was involved in this carnage and genocide, is desperate to become the next president of Nigeria.

“We give thanks to God that Igboland is now a vital and integral part of a united and indivisible Nigeria and that the pains of the Civil War are many years behind us, yet the wounds inflicted on our minds must be healed and completely too.

“This can only be done by the exposition and enunciation of truth and when those who committed the most heinous atrocities against innocent civilians, women and children, even many years ago, are brought to justice. This can only be done after the souls of the innocents that were slaughtered are appeased by ensuring that anyone, no matter how highly placed, who committed or encouraged any crime against humanity at any point in time in our history against fellow Nigerians is brought to book.  

“The best way to do this is not to dismiss these grave and serious questions, because this man was accused of participating in the terrible atrocities against the Igbo, both on January 29, 1966 and during the course of the massacre of innocent civilians in the North in September, October and November 1966.

“At this juncture, we must ask this painful, yet pertinent question: Is it true that the blood of the Igbo people ran up to the knees of Buhari on the night of July 29, 1966? This question, among others were put to Buhari during the sitting of the late Oputa-led panel in 2001 and instead of him answering them accordingly, for attendant matters to be settled once and for all and, if these allegations were indeed true, for him to ask for forgiveness, Buhari refused to turn up. Instead of coming clean and making use of this historic opportunity to settle the matter once and for all and make peace, Buhari went to court to ask for an injunction to restrain the panel from compelling him to come and give answers.

“This is very unfortunate and it is nothing but a sad and graphic reflection of his unrepentant and vicious mindset. The truth is that it is because he failed to face the Oputa-led panel and answer those questions 14 years ago, that we are still asking those questions today.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APCPCO), has described as felonious, the statement credited to the Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, on Sunday, in which questions were raised about the civil war role and commitment to the nation of Major-General Muhammadu Buahri.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja,on Sunday, by the Department of Media and Communications of the presidential campaign of the party, the APC described the PDP statement as amounting to questions about the purpose of the continued being of Nigeria as a single entity.

The statement, signed by the Director of Media, Garba Shehu, described the PDP as questioning the “the continued existence of Nigeria as single entity. This is nothing short of treason. It rocks at the foundation of the oneness of Nigeria, its constitution, its flag and desecrates the blood of fellow citizens who fought on both sides of the war as part of their commitment to one, united nation.”

The APCPCO dismissed the PDP attack on General Buhari’s illustrious war record and inspiring patriotism as “a grim pointer to the desperation by the president to return even if in the process, he causes a permanent damage to the well-being and continued existence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Garba accused the PDP of riding roughshod over the emotions of the Nigerian people, saying the latest statement shone an unflattering light of the PDP and its government and lent credence to those who accused the ruling party of having lost interest in the unity of the Nigeria.

The APC noted that the world history had shown that in the process of the development of any nation, challenges bordering on national unity always cropped up.

The statement read in part: “As a soldier of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Buhari’s participation in efforts to keep the country together was not because he loved the Igbos less, but because it was imperative that we develop as a unified nation.”

“The Igbo people of the Eastern Nigeria have suffered immeasurably over the years in this country and we are glad to say that in the past two years, they have been able to hold their heads high under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan. We are also happy to say that this is the time for the Igbo, who are full- blooded Nigerians like every other person in this country, to rise and show Buhari and anyone else who may have had a hand in the atrocities that were committed in the 60s against them that they were, indeed, wronged.

“The only way the Igbo can do this is by refusing to vote for Buhari in the coming presidential election and we do not think that any self-respecting Igbo man would vote for a General who many believe may have participated in the killing of their people, both on July 29,1966 and in the 60s when the pogrom took place. Again, it does not stop there.

“During the Nigerian Civil War, one of the most terrible and barbaric acts that ever took place was in Asaba. That was when federal forces marched in and liberated Asaba from the control of Biafran soldiers during the Civil War. The federal troops that retook Asaba ordered every single Igbo male civilian, including many young boys, to assemble at the centre of the town. After doing that, they lined them up and shot every single one of them in cold blood. These were not soldiers but unarmed and defenceless civilians. This was a wicked act, a monumental tragedy and it has become a sore point in the history of our country. I was in Asaba two days ago during this tour and I could not but remember and ponder on that ugly and shameful episode.

“It is important for us to remember that day because one of the allegations against Buhari that was to be put to him at the Oputa-led panel was that he was among the division that took part in the massacre and that ordered those killings.”

Fani-Kayode remarked that if the allegations were true, it makes Buhari an automatic candidate for the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

He added: “Since he refused to face the Oputa-led panel to answer these questions, we are here today, offering him the opportunity to do so. Buhari, in essence, should tell the Nigerian people whether he was in Asaba at that time, whether he participated in the killing of those innocent civilians, whether, if it is true, he is ready to repent now and whether he can find it in his heart to apologise, not just to the Igbo people, but to the Nigerian nation for these acts of genocide.

“We considered it germane to ask these questions here because we are on the soil of Igboland. This is because it is the sons and daughters from this soil that suffered the pains of the atrocities that were committed. It is also relevant for us to ask these questions here in Umuahia, the epicenter of Igboland and the birth place of General Agunyi Ironsi, who was the first Igbo to ever become the head of state and who was killed six months after he took office.

“All along, concerned Igbo leaders have been asking these questions in hushed tones and they all want answers. Our duty as a responsible, compassionate and civilised campaign organisation is to put the questions to Buhari and demand explanations from him, especially in view of the fact that he is seeking the mandate to run the affairs of this nation,” he said.

Fani-Kayode described Buhari as a “plague and an affliction,” which he said the PDPPCO had exposed, saying “along the line, we succeeded in putting Buhari in a fix, marking him down on the basis of his glaring incapacity to do anything meaningful or positive for our nation and for bringing our nation into utter shame and disrepute before the international community whilst he was military head of state and when he led the most brutal, sadistic and callous government in the history of Nigeria. Under Buhari, between 1983 and 1985, Nigeria was turned into a massive slave camp, in which many were tortured, brutalised, humiliated, killed and sent to jail without any due process or evidence of wrongdoing.

“That is his legacy to the Nigerian people. We thank God for the courage of General Ibrahim Babangida and all those who risked their lives and deemed it fit to remove him from office in 1985. Yet today, General Buhari, that same man that staged a coup d’etat against a democratically-elected president in 1983, that same man that was himself removed from office in 1985 by another coup d’etat and that same man, after whose removal our people rejoiced in the streets, now wants to be a democratically-elected president.

“He has tried three times before and failed, yet he keeps trying. We consider it as part of our job to stop him from achieving this ambition, because we regard him as being nothing, but a plague and an affliction to the Nigerian people.

Our drive in this regard is to help obviate a catastrophic political future for Nigeria, simply by ensuring that a wrong candidate does not ride on the crest of crass propaganda to become the president of this country.

“It behoves on us and other well-meaning Nigerians to ensure that a man whose health status, academic records and mental state are shrouded in secrecy does not crawl into power through the backdoor to lead Nigeria,” he declared.