The governors stated this after their over two hours closed-door meeting at the Government House, Enugu on Thursday.
Governors of the five states in the South-east have said those behind insecurity in the region were criminals and not Biafra agitators.
The governors stated this after their over two hours closed-door meeting at the Government House, Enugu on Thursday.
In attendance at the meeting was Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, his Abia State counterpart, Alex Otti, and the host governor, Peter Mbah of Enugu State.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and Charles Soludo, his Anambra State counterpart, were also in attendance.
Briefing reporters on behalf of the governors, the chairperson of the South-east Governors Forum, Mr Uzodinma, who read out a communique issued at the end of the meeting, said they have "firmly resolved to fight insecurity decisively" in the region both individually and collectively.
He said the governors also resolved to fight the insecurity in partnership with the federal government and other unnamed stakeholders.
"We wish to state categorically that the perpetrators of the insecurity in the region and their sponsors are criminals and should not be seen as legitimate (Biafra) agitators.
"Therefore, upon arrest, they (the perpetrators) should be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land," he said.
The governors also announced that they had resolved to hold a security and economic summit on a date that will be communicated soon.
They commended the security agencies for their cooperation so far in the fight against insecurity in the region and urged them not to relent at this time.
Background
Security has deteriorated in the Igbo-speaking part of the South-east with frequent attacks by armed persons.
The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.
Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in such attacks.
The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
This is the first time the five governors would be meeting to discuss insecurity in the region after the 2023 general elections which saw the election of three of the governors - Messrs Mbah, Nwifuru and Otti.
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PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the meeting focused on how to stop the infamous Monday sit-at-home usually enforced by a faction of the IPOB in the South-east.
This newspaper also reported that the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in late July, via a handwritten letter issued through Aloy Ejimakor, his special counsel, ordered a pro-Biafran agitator, Simon Ekpa, to stop issuing sit-at-home orders in the region.
But Mr Ekpa, who has continued to issue the order in the region, described the letter as "fake," and maintained that the illegal order would go on until Mr Kanu speaks to him directly in Finland, a North European country, where he (Ekpa) resides.
The pro-Biafran agitator leads Autopilot, a faction of the IPOB, a group agitating for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria.
