IPOB to security-men: Go after enforcers of sit-at-home orders
EMERGENCY DIGEST- THE Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, said it does not have any problem with the military, particularly, the Nigerian Army’s killing of criminals and hoodlums still enforcing its long cancelled Monday weekly sit-at-home order.
The group said it would never support criminals making the South East unsafe for habitation, warning, however, that it would never tolerate the killing of innocent Igbo youths.
According to IPOB, those who still enforce the Monday weekly sit-at-home order are not its members but criminals who want to rob people and should be treated as criminals by security agents.
It also disowned the youths said to be enforcing the sit-at-home order at Ihioma and Amaifeke, all in Orlu Local Government of Imo State, who was allegedly killed by the Nigerian Army, describing them as criminals who had been robbing, killing, and setting houses ablaze.
IPOB equally said its members were not part of the criminals and hoodlums who had been circulating fake voice notes in the name of IPOB, threatening people to sit at home from Monday to Thursday when it did not issue such order.
IPOB’s present position came as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, declined to grant bail to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, pending the determination of the treasonable felony charge the Federal Government preferred against him.
A statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful entitled, “The Nigerian security must act professionally in flushing out criminals in Biafraland” said that it is an indisputable fact that IPOB initially in August last year, issued Monday weekly sit-at-home, but quickly withdrew and cancelled the order /directive before the second week of its observance, because of the pleadings from Igbo mothers and its possible adverse effect on Igbo economy.
It also said that it has consistently issued statements telling people not to obey Monday weekly sit-at-home, just as other sit-at-home directives and orders that are not from IPOB’s channels of information dissemination, including the one observed on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, following a fake voice note circulated in Facebook.
IPOB’s statement read: “The global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, ably led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wish to use this medium to tell the Nigerian Government and its security agencies: the military, particularly the Nigerian Army on a mission to depopulate Biafran youths to drop their wicked agenda.
“We wish to remind them that those they killed in Ihioma and Amaifeke in Orlu Local Government Area were not IPOB members or ESN operatives because IPOB volunteers don’t enforce non-existent Monday weekly sit-at-home.
“It is not in doubt that IPOB issued Monday sit-at-home order in solidarity with our leader, but upon pleas by our mothers and elders, based on its adverse effects on the economy of our people, we quickly rescinded it. Anyone still enforcing Monday weekly sit-at-home is not a genuine IPOB member, but a dissident, or criminal and doesn’t deserve any mercy.
“We have severally threatened to deal with these dissidents giving us a bad name. We even commend security agencies for dealing with such hoodlums in the manner they deserve because of their stubbornness. IPOB is a disciplined and responsible movement. We don’t know where such hoodlums are coming from and what agenda they are pursuing, but certainly not the Biafran agenda.
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“We, therefore, ask the security agencies to stop referring to such dissidents as IPOB members because they don’t belong to us. The security agencies should stop associating us with criminals that have no connections whatsoever with IPOB. We equally advise them to be professional in dealing with such characters so that innocent citizens are not caught in the crossfire.
“It is unfortunate that the Nigerian security agencies are turning the truth upside down because they want the public to believe they are working hard while in reality, they are pursuing an Islamist agenda. They kill innocent citizens on the streets and tag them IPOB members and ESN operatives.
“Nigeria Army should leave the innocent people of Orlu in peace and allow them to go about their daily businesses and focus on the terrorists and bandits in the North where killings and kidnappings are the order of the day.
“We remind them once again that IPOB is not responsible for the criminal activities in the whole of Biafraland, including Ihioma and Amaifeke Orlu. No member of IPOB or ESN is missing in Orlu senatorial zone.
“We are calling on the stakeholders of the Eastern Region to come together and fight these criminals trying to blackmail and demonize IPOB. We don’t know them and have absolutely nothing to do with them.
“IPOB securities both ESN and IPOB volunteers are not permitted to do anything that will threaten the lives of Biafrans and this is a fundamental principle and policy of IPOB. Anybody involved in killing and taking lives is not worthy to belong to this hallowed family and IPOB cannot allow such a person to be in our midst.
“As our leader said, what violence that is happening in our Biafra land is sacrilegious and alien to Ndigbo.We believe they are sponsored by enemies of Ndigbo and there is no sense in anyone claiming that IPOB has turned against the people we are fighting for. It can never happen in IPOB.”
Five gunmen were arrested in Anambra
Also yesterday, five men were arrested in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government of Anambra State. The men reportedly refused to pay after eating from a mama-put joint and threatened the food vendor for daring to open her shop on a sit-at-home day.
An eyewitness said: “Those guys have been in the habit of eating in a local mama-put on restricted days and refusing to pay. Today in Ekwulobia, they came to do the same thing.
“After eating food of N750 each, they stood up to leave and the woman requested her money. They said Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in court and you’re opening a shop. One of them brought out a dagger and threatened to pour the woman’s food away, claiming they were gunmen.
“She held one of them in his shirt and said they cannot leave without paying and they should kill her if they like. She started screaming and people doing clean-up rounded them up and handed them over to vigilante.”
Armed arsonists set Nnewi South LGA Secretariat, and police station ablaze at Ukpor
Meantime, barely 48 hours after unknown arsonists razed Idemili North Local Government Headquarters Ogidi, they have again burnt down Nnewi South Council Secretariat at Ukpor and a police station in the area.
The incident according to sources occurred Tuesday night when the arsonists first set the secretariat ablaze before proceeding to the police station to complete their mission.
A reliable source from the area recalled that the Ukpor police station had been burnt during the endSARS protest and was later rebuilt only for it to be burnt for the second time just as the Education department of the council secretariat was burnt in February this year and now the main secretariat has followed suit.
Condemning the action, Dr Boniface Agbala, chairman of Idemili Leaders of Thought and other leaders from the area described the current spate of insecurity in the southeast as very unfortunate.
In Enugu, the metropolis was deserted by people, including notorious police checkpoints that used to witness security presence on ordinary days of the week.
All major and minor economic activities were paralyzed, including banks, government establishments, markets, and artisan concerns.
A car was reportedly set ablaze in the early morning at Oye-Emene, an Enugu suburb that is home to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.
