Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, yesterday, said acts of violence in the South East were externally induced expressing the optimism that the trend would be of no consequences to the conduct of this year’s elections in the zone.
He spoke against the backdrop of attacks on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices and the police and the sit-at-home order by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The lawmaker, who was guest on a national television program monitored in Lagos said: “These things that are happening are externally induced and sometimes supported by people internally just to make sure that people don’t exercise their franchise freely and fairly.
“I have condemned the violence and even at one time, I visited Nnamdi Kanu and he said there is nothing like sit-at-home or something like that. Some merchants of violence and destruction have taken over to commit crimes and when they do that, they say it is this group or that group.
“Our people are not violent in nature. All this violence you are seeing is not an Igbo thing, it is something that was imported to Igbo land. IPOB said they are for election and not part of sit-at-home, and people still say they are saying they are the ones doing it.
“All we can say is that let the security agencies do more intelligence gathering. Let them work with security apparatus in the south-east. But, I tell you, this will not affect the elections in Igbo land, you will see that the elections in the south-east will be free and fair, and with BVAS, the result will show who the people trust or not.”
