Asari Dokubo, the former head of the Niger Delta insurgents, sparked a riot on Friday, June 17, when he accused the military of being involved in the oil theft in the area and also vowed to murder the Igbo in large numbers.
He had gone to see Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president, when this serious threat and accusation were made public inside the presidential house.
He vehemently asserted that certain military cabals were deeply involved in the unfortunate operation of oil theft in the Niger Delta, which had caused the nation’s oil production to reach its lowest point, as well as the total oil revenue, and consequently, had caused untold economic hardship to Nigerians.
However, the Nigerian Navy swiftly refuted Dokubo’s claim, calling it false, and even tasked him with providing proof of it.
Dokubo was asked by Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, Director of Naval Information, to not only provide proof to support his assertions but also to identify the individuals he claimed were responsible for the criminal activity.
Ayo-Vaughan emphasized that those responsible for the theft began a two-pronged strategy for the illicit enterprise and that the Nigerian military, notably the Navy, had been at the forefront of fighting crude oil theft at all levels in the country.
“Criminals were also stealing crude oil from offshore at sea while it was being refined for the local market and local customers in the creeks where it was stolen from pipelines.
“You recall the case of MT HEROIC IDUN, which was detained, taken back from Malabo Island in Guinea Bissau, and forced to comply with court rulings by paying fines to the Nigerian government.
“In April of last year, a ship attempted to load without a license or the proper approval, and it showed the Navy’s willingness to go even further to arrest the ship.
“I was actually present when the Navy launched ‘Operation Dakatarda Barawo,’ which means stop the thief in Hausa language—stop the thief that is stealing the country’s natural riches, the hydrocarbons—on board one of our ships at FOT in Onne.
The Nigerian Navy has been resisting crude oil theft by moving the conflict to the creeks; while I speak to you, our soldiers are engaged in combat there. I’ll just say that Asari Dokubo is looking for some kind of significance or anything.
“He claims that there is a military cabal engaged in stealing crude oil; let him present the names. Finding out the identities of individuals responsible for stealing crude oil doesn’t scare anyone.
You can’t just make such baseless accusations and expect us to ignore them, he said.
The Naval spokesman added that such an action would not be supported by either the Chief of Defense Staff or the Chief of Naval Staff.
He pledged that the claims would not deter the Nigerian Navy from its commitment to the Niger Delta’s fight against resource theft and crude oil theft.
Therefore, he emphasized, “the only simple thing to do is to bring the evidence, and the names involved, for anyone to say that there is a cabal of military officers.”
In a similar vein, the Nigerian Army has also responded, saying that it has been actively pursuing positive outcomes in the fight against illegal oil-bunkering, oil theft, illegal oil refining, and other various crimes in the area through Brig-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, Director, Army Public Relations.
And as can be seen by the rise in daily oil production per barrel from a pitifully declining output in the past, this has produced favorable outcomes.
“The Nigerian army will not support such acts of economic sabotage and has zero tolerance for any compromise on the side of our troops. If discovered, no black sheep will be spared.
Dokubo also insulted the Igbo, claiming that if it weren’t for British involvement, he would still be selling the Igbo as slaves, much like his forebears did, in addition to accusing the military of being involved in the oil theft in the Niger Delta.
He also made fun of the Igbo, claiming that they are losing people in large numbers, and implied that he and his comrades were in conflict with IPOB-aligned youth in states like Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi.
“The Igbo people are unaware of their ancestry. They don’t appreciate the person who purchased their father. You believe that all Kalabari men are Kalabari men. I don’t know any Igbo. I would still be selling them the way my father sold them if it weren’t for British intervention, he said in the widely shared video.
Expectedly, Nigerians at home and abroad, as well as civil society organizations, agreed that he should be detained and charged with defaming the military’s honor and recklessly endangering the Igbo, one of Nigeria’s three main ethnic groups.
There were so many people calling for his arrest that there was a rumor that he had even fled the country. He had performed the Hajj in Mecca, the holiest site for Muslims, it was later learned.
But numerous Nigerians also agreed with him over the alleged military complicity in the oil heist.
Those on this side of the argument demanded that instead of calling for his arrest, the military come honest and defend their reputation.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, or HURIWA, warned the federal government that if it didn’t arrest him within 72 working hours for the threat he posed to the Igbo, it would organize its members to stage a nationwide demonstration.
Asari Dokubo must be detained by the Department of State Services, DSS, or any other pertinent security agency for his alleged connection to the violent phenomenon known as “unknown gunmen” in the South East, according to a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko.
The Federal Government is indirectly ordering Igbo youths, Igbo lovers, and Igbo organisations that support the well-being of the Igbo people to start peaceful protests at the same time if the Nigerian government does not immediately arrest Dokubo.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has 72 working hours to request the arrest and investigation of Dokubo over his alleged connection to the South East’s violent phenomenon of unidentified gunmen, or else HURIWA would convene its members for a protest in Abuja the following week.
“Illegality must not be let to persist while the security authorities lie about knowing about it or purposefully do nothing. Arresting Asari Dokubo is necessary. It is not a banana republic, Nigeria.
Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, the national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, compared Dokubo’s threat to the ranting of an ant and emphasized that the leading Igbo socio-cultural organization would not respond to him in a way that would be honorable.
The National Executive Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo should not respond to Asari Dokubo; instead, our young wing should do so. To answer to Dokubo, I’ll be decreasing the NEC of Ohaneze’s office. It’s not right,” he said.
However, in response to calls for his arrest from many sources, particularly for the threat made against the Igbo, he has published another bombshell that seems to support the claims of those who believe he is above the reach of the law.
In a widely shared video, he cautioned the federal government from considering his arrest since it would be fatal for the nation.
If the government is not afraid of him, he challenged it to arrest him. In the event of his imprisonment, he vowed to ruin oil output.
Dokubo had stated in the widely-shared video: “I am not afraid of arrest, but they will never arrest me because if they do, the consequence is that Nigeria will be history.”
He boasted that the oil output was lowered from around 2,000,000 barrels per day to 70,000 barrels per day the last time he was jailed and threatened that if the government dared to arrest him this time, he would assure that not even a single barrel would be produced in a day.
“I am saying it bold and clear without mincing words that the consequence of my arrest is that Nigeria will be history,” he declared, threatening to rain down fire and brimstone. The oil production was down to 700,000 bpd when I was last detained. This time, it will be zero, and we will match blood with blood, bullets with bullets, and violence with violence. For them, we are prepared.
Nigerians anticipated a swift response from the government in the shape of an arrest and prosecution when the video went viral, but unexpectedly that has not happened.
The administration has withdrawn into itself, as though scared of what could happen if it touched him.
Some people believe that Dokubo has simply demonstrated that he is too powerful to be affected by the law.
Those on this side of the aisle would immediately think of George Orwell, a well-known English author.
While the author claimed that all animals are equal in his well-known tale “The Animal Farm,” in actuality, certain creatures are more equal than others.
That is the situation currently facing the nation, despite the fact that many people are still waiting and hoping that the government will summon the courage to take necessary action.
Others, however, contend that Dokubo knows of a web of official secret and that his arrest would prevent the government from having him leak the information.
They said, “The government will never arrest him, as he earlier claimed.
According to the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Nigerian Police is unaware of the trending video.
“I’ve never watched the video. Adejobi said, “I’m not aware of that.
Many people are still wondering how the nation came to be in such a miserable position in the midst of Dokubo’s acts and responses from both sides. Why did Dokubo demand a fight with the government? In response to the new video in which Dokubo dared the authorities to arrest him, Nigerians have also started responding.
Dokubo was only boasting, according to Pogu Bitrus, the president of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), because the country’s institutions are so weak that no one is above the law.
“Asari Dokubo could be detained and dealt with if there was a functioning government and it was determined that he had committed crimes against the state.
“Nobody is above the law of the land, neither the president and not the common person. Therefore, in my opinion, he is merely boasting and bragging. I don’t think anyone is above the law, but that is up to him.
“If he is abiding by the law, that is great; as a nation, we are not supposed to victimize anyone, but for someone to assert that they are above the law is a lie.
Nobody is above the law in the first place, but as you can see, when we create a system where people believe they can act anyway they choose in government and get away with it, other people will follow suit.
Because no one is above the law, he continued, “it is for the government to now sit up and be the government that it is supposed to be.”
Dokubo is an outlaw, according to Casmir Agbo, the chairman of the Labour Party in Enugu State, and should be dealt with by the law.
Agbo claims that his threat against the Igbo is a treasonable offense.
His remarks were treasonous. He is questioning the federal government’s legitimacy. He needs to be detained and charged.
It is an insult to Nigerian law for him to be carrying an AK-47 in full front of the people and on national television. He should be dealt with appropriately, but the main issue we have in this nation is that some individuals believe their behavior is OK because they have ties to powerful individuals.
“However, people will take their time if you start dealing with them legally.
“There is no justification for Asari Dokubo to be threatening the entire Igbo nation, saying that he killed them or that he was killing them ‘wotowoto’ and people are looking at him,” he said.
Additionally, he concurred with others who claimed Dokubo is above the law.
“I believe he is a man above the law, and I am requesting that he be detained, tried, and, if found guilty, imprisoned by the Nigerian government.
“That is so easy. I don’t have anything against him, but it’s simply too much when he brags about having killed several Igbo people and says that no one will be able to apprehend him.
“He needs to be detained and questioned about the victims he killed. He needs to be prosecuted. He is one of the individuals causing issues in Igbo country, he admitted.
Ikechukwu Onodi, a lawyer and public affairs commentator, could not have agreed more with Agbo and claimed that what Asari committed constituted a treasonable offense.
Additionally, he thinks that his lack of arrest is a result of the government’s support for him.
“It is a remark that has a tendency to roused our nation’s sovereign power. He may have been on the crest of the presidency, but was he not still making that incendiary statement? It is the worst treasonable crime someone can make.
It’s not the kind of claim that a regular person could make and get away with. He created it because he believes he can get away with it and no one will ask him any questions. That is the issue we are facing.
He declared, “The statement is treasonable and criminal, and he ought to be detained and brought to justice.”
Similar to this, the Igbo attorneys Association (ILA), a grouping of attorneys of Igbo descent, has urged the acting inspector general of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to apprehend the former militant leader and look into reports that he threatened to exterminate the Igbo tribe.
The group, which gathered in Aba, the capital of Abia State, claimed that while it would take time for the authorities to respond to Dokubo’s incendiary and ethnic action, it would use all legal means at its disposal to make sure that such matters were not ignored.
In a letter dated July 6, 2023, titled “Threats/hate speech against Ndi-Igbo by Asari Dokubo: A call for his arrest and possible prosecution” and addressed to the IGP, the group claimed that Dokubo should not be permitted to move around freely after committing what it called a heinous crime against the Igbo nation.
