Deriving from their emergency meeting held in Enugu on Tuesday, South-East governors and other stakeholders have reportedly taken two key decisions to restore peace to Igboland.
The emergency meeting was informed by the rising cases of assassination by unknown gunmen, stalking the land. A recent such case was the high-profile murder of Dr. Chike Akunyili, the widower of the late Prof. Dora Akunyili.
A source close to the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, revealed to our correspondent that the South-East stakeholders would raise a tactical committee to parley with aggrieved members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to retreat and cease fire.
“But this is going to be done after they ( the Eastern leaders) must have reached an agreement with the federal government; that IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, would be given a soft-landing in his current ordeal,” the source, not wanting his name disclosed owing to the sensitivity of the matter, added.
Kanu is currently in detention in a federal government facility after he was picked up in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria, in the aftermath of his jumping a court bail.
The IPOB leader is currently facing treason and other related charges.
Meanwhile, the South-East governors had earlier agreed to set up a joint security outfit to check criminalities, but not much has been achieved in this regard in virtually all states of the region.
Those present at the Tuesday meeting are: Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, who is the host; Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State, and Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.
Abia State is represented by the deputy governor, Ude Oko Chukwu.
National Assembly members from the region, former governors, and a former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika; traditional and religious leaders, were also in attendance.
Participants in the meeting reportedly observed a minute of silence in honour of Nigerians, especially those in the South-East, who had lost their lives because of the insecurity around the country.