IPOB stands proscribed, terrorist group – FG

The Federal Government of Nigeria, Tuesday, threw its weight on the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the categorisation of IPOB as a terrorist organisation by both the south-east governors and the Nigerian army, respectively, saying the activities of the group are similar to those of other terrorist groups.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this on Tuesday when he appeared on a live TV programme “Good Morning Nigeria” on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

According to him, the federal government equally knows the foreign countries supporting and funding the activities of IPOB in Nigeria and has kick-started steps at blocking IPOB’s funding.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed also said that IPOb has written to those foreign countries, lying to them that Nigeria is a country where Muslims persecute Christians and that in Nigeria, genocide is carried out by the state.

According to him, “There are a lot of arguments regarding the constitutionality of the action of the military and the South East governors. “People must realise that we are dealing with issue of national security and I do not think that the military and the governors should fold their arms while the country is set ablaze.

“I have heard a lot of comments as to whether the military has the right to declare IPOB, a terrorist group “What the military has done is to catalogue all the activities of IPOB, which are not different from that of terrorists groups,” he said. Mohammed said IPOB set up a para-military organisation, a parallel military group, Biafra Secret Service and Biafra National Guard. He said the group were attacking army installations and soldiers at check points, extorting money from innocent people. “IPOB activities are not jokes.

If there have not been the proactive actions on the part of the military and the South East governors, there would have been retaliations from other regions and the entire country will be set on fire. “We cannot be talking of semantics or procedure when the nation is moving towards crises and precipices. It is only in a Banana Republic that you can see non state actors doing what IPOB is doing. “The actions by the military and the governors should be seen from the perspective of ensuring internal security and averting chaos,” he said.

Recall that on Monday September 18th, 2017, the President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki had condemned the tagging of IPOB as terrorist organisation, saying it was unconstitutional. Saraki had also faulted the South-East governors for proscribing the activities of IPOB in the region. Recall that army’s Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, had pronounced that IPOB was a terrorist organisation after a reported clash between military personnel and IPOB members in Umuahia, Abia state. Enenche had, during the pronouncement, given the following reasons for tagging IPOB a terrorist organisation; According to him, ““After due professional analysis and recent developments, it has become expedient to notify the general public that the claim by IPOB actors that the organisation is non-violent is not true.

“Hence, the need to bring to public awareness the true and current state of IPOB. “In this regard, some of their actions, clandestinely and actively, that have been terrorising the general public include: “The formation of a Biafra Secret Service, claimed formation of Biafra National Guard, unauthorised blocking of public access roads and extortion of money from innocent civilians at illegal road blocks. “Militant possession and use of weapons (stones, molotov cocktails, machetes and broken bottles, among others) on a military patrol on Sept. 10, 2017.

“Physical confrontation of troops by Nnamdi Kanu and other IPOB actors at a check point on Sept. 11, 2017 and also attempt to snatch their rifles. “Attack by IPOB members on a military check point on Sept. 12, 2017, at Isialangwa, where one IPOB actor attempted to snatch a female soldier’s rifle.’’ “From the foregoing, the Armed Forces of Nigeria wish to confirm to the general public that IPOB from all intent, plan and purpose as analysed, is a militant terrorist organisation.”

Alhaji Mohammed also reiterated his position that IPOB was being sponsored by the association of disgruntled politicians and treasury looters to discredit President Muhammad Buhari”s Administration. He admonished the media and opinion leaders to be circumspect in their publications and discussions on IPOB in order not to aggravate the crises the more.

“The kind of comments and headlines in the media as well as comments from certain quarters are the types that give oxygen and confidence to the IPOB. “They must exercise restraint because the only reason we practice our profession or be a commentator is simply because there is peace in the country,” he said.

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Terrorism Charge: Nnamdi Kanu Flees, Goes Into Hiding

• The founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and top leaders of his group have gone into hiding following Friday’s declaration by the Nigerian Army that IPOB and other Pro-Biafran groups were terrorist organizations. 

• Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday revealed that Kanu and his top lieutenants had ‘disappeared’ from his country home in Afaraukwu near Umuahia and other places he frequently visited. His father, Eze Israel Kanu, is the traditional ruler of the town.

His father, Eze Israel Kanu, is the traditional ruler of the town.

Some IPOB members, who spoke on condition of anonymity explained that Kanu and others were advised to go underground following the declaration by the Army and the decision of the South-East governors to proscribe activities of pro-Biafra agitators in the region.

An IPOB member said, “We have to apply wisdom to whatever we are doing. We have realized that there is a grand conspiracy against Kanu and other top leaders of our group.

“Just imagine barely few hours after the Nigerian military declared members of IPOB and other pro-Biafran groups as terrorists, our own governors came up with their own outright ban of our activities.

“This definitely will give the soldiers and other security agencies the opportunity to arrest our leader and mount a deadly clampdown on all IPOB members. So, it is better to operate from a hideout for now.”

I can’t disclose my brother’s location — Kanu’s brother

When contacted on phone on Saturday, Kanu’s younger brother simply identified as Fine Boy, refused to tell SUNDAY PUNCH where his brother was, adding that only the IPOB leader could disclose his hiding place.

He said, “Only my brother can tell Nigerians where he is, I can’t. I don’t know why the Army should call IPOB a terrorist organization, it is out of their desperation to arrest Nnamdi and frustrate the Biafran struggle.  We have petitioned the United Nations and the European Union.

“The world knows that IPOB is a non-violent organization, we don’t carry arms, we don’t kill, and we believe violence can never solve any problem.

“Nnamdi will soon disclose his current location and IPOB will also react to the proscription of the group by the South-East governors’ forum.”

Security agencies comb South-East for Kanu, others

SUNDAY PUNCH investigations on Saturday also showed that security agencies were combing the South-East region in search of Kanu.

Findings by one of our correspondents in Abuja showed that the security agencies had been directed to arrest Kanu and other leaders of his group.

The directive to arrest the IPOB leaders was said to have been communicated to the leaders of the security agencies deployed in the region.

The security agencies that were given the directive, according to investigations, include the military, the police and the Department of State Services.

It was gathered that the government felt that it could be dangerous to leave Kanu a free man till the next adjourned date when his case would come up at an Abuja Federal High Court.

His case is said to be coming up later in October.

A top security source said, “We are seriously looking for him. He has a lot of things to explain to the government concerning his statements, actions, and activities.

“We can’t sit by and allow the security situation in the country to be compromised to the extent that an individual will be challenging the Federal Government.

“Government has to do something about an individual that is recruiting young people, giving them uniforms, arming them and referring to them as a secret service.

“We have been seizing arms and ammunition at the ports; we also need to know what they were meant for.

“This is someone who unilaterally said there would be no election in Anambra State and some people want us to allow him to continue with his activities?  No, we need to grow above our ethnic and tribal sentiments.”

South-East govs disloyal — IPOB

IPOB  on Saturday night condemned the South East Governor’s Forum over its proscription of IPOB’s activities. Its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, said the speed with which the governors announced the proscription of IPOB activities showed that the governors were disloyal.

IPOB said, “We want to find out how the governors who do not know the foundations of IPOB, would make such a statement when they know that IPOB had staged 297 peaceful protests and rallies both at home and in Diaspora without a single record of violence or crime.

“With the record on ground, IPOB under Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is one of the most peaceful organized freedom fighting group in the world today.  It is dangerous that the governors who are the chief security officers of their respective states in the zone would decide to hand over their people to the enemies who were out to kill, maim and destroy because of their selfish reasons.  We are also aware that late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and General Philip Effiong protected their people during the first pogrom and ethnic cleansing from 1966’to 1970.

“These governors and their collaborators are in the forefront to eliminate our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other peaceful members of IPOB. It is on record that IPOB activities are peaceful since the inception and nobody can prove where and how IPOB activities became violent overnight.

“The soldiers brought in to eliminate or murder our leader and IPOB members, including the innocent civilians across Biafra land, are still going from house to house picking anyone suspected to be IPOB or seen with any Biafra insignia. IPOB under Kanu must remain a nonviolent group in the pursuit of Biafra freedom, despite the high-handedness meted against IPOB members and our leader.”

Enforcement of ban will cause bloodshed, says MASSOB

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, on Saturday, said the South-East Governors Forum has no powers to proscribe the activities of pro-Biafra groups in the zone.

It warned that any attempt by the governors to enforce the proscription will lead to loss of lives.

MASSOB said the decision taken by the governors cannot stand.

National Director of Information, MASSOB, Samuel Edeson, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH in Enugu, described the pro-Biafra groups as independent associations of people whose rights to self-determination are backed by the United Nation’s Charter.

Edeson argued that the governors can only enforce the proscription after amending the laws of South-East states to criminalize self-determination.

According to him, “The governors said they will enforce the proscription, the only way they can do that is by using the shoot-on-sight approach which was started by the Buhari administration. In that case people will die.

“The fact is that MASSOB was never registered under the Nigerian government; neither did we registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

“We are an independent organization, we are freedom fighters — there is nowhere in the world where a self-determination group is proscribed.

“It (proscription) cannot stand; nobody can drive us away from our father’s land.”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo also faulted Nigeria army’s declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organization. Ohanaeze said, “IPOB is not a terrorist organization going by extant national and international laws, especially the terrorist prevention Act 2011, as amended in 2015.”

It, however, praised the South-East Governors for stopping the conflict in the region.  In a communique read by the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, the group condemned the military operation in the zone and urged the army to terminate the exercise henceforth.

No going back on IPOB, others’ proscription – Govs

The Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum who is also the Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has attributed the proscription of the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra to the agitation for secession by the group.

Umahi spoke in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Saturday while briefing journalists on the resolution of his colleagues on the activities of IPOB and the “Operation Python Dance” launched by the military in the South –East.

The governor insisted that the decision would be enforced in the five states.

He said, “The Igbo are not looking for secession at this time, it is not the solution to our problem. If we want Biafra, it is the leaders of the South-East that would be in the forefront of it, not any other person.

“The ideals and beliefs of IPOB have gone beyond the initial thought of IPOB leaders. Anybody can agitate but it must be devoid of insults from any sources.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has shown maturity in the handling of insults, there must be disagreement, but such disagreement must not degenerate to insulting the President of the country.”

Umahi said there was no way the South-East governors would have supported the activities of IPOB.

He said, “We have the people’s mandate, our task is to avoid shedding of blood and ensure a peaceful existence of our people.

“We had invited Nnamdi Kanu on two occasions, and he honored our invitation. We told him that he cannot be insulting President Buhari, it is not the solution to the problem of the South-East geopolitical zone of the country.”

On the allegations of torture allegedly committed by soldiers involved in the “Operation Python Dance” in Umuahia and  Aba, Umahi said the South-East Governors have set up a committee to investigate all the allegations.

He said, “We must reiterate that anybody found culpable will face the full wrath of the law and be prosecuted.”

Obasanjo’s advice on Kanu, personal opinion — Presidency

The Presidency has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent comment on the Biafran agitation is his opinion.

Obasanjo was reported on Friday to have advised Buhari to invite  IPOB leaders for negotiations.

When asked on Saturday if Buhari would heed Obasanjo’s advice, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Obasanjo’s comment was not a law or a rule.

He said, “It is an opinion that he has proffered and when you proffer an opinion, it is not a law or a rule. It is now left for the person who was given the advice to consider it.”

Junaid, Balarabe berate Obasanjo

Meanwhile, two northern elder statesmen, Dr. Junaid Muhammed and Alhaji Balarabe Musa, have disagreed with Obasanjo over his comments on IPOB agitations, saying that the retired general lacked credibility.

The former president was quoted to have said the deployment of troops in the South- East was not the solution to the Biafran agitation. He also said Buhari should invite  IPOB leaders for negotiations.

Muhammed, a Second Republic lawmaker, said, “The statement credited to Obasanjo, if he, indeed, said so, must be condemned by all right-thinking Nigerians. It is irresponsible and demoralizing to the army and the police who are confronting terrorists wherever they are.

“It confirms that the ex-president is a hypocrite who is playing games with even the sacred ideals of our national existence.

“Obasanjo without recourse to parliament deployed Nigerian armed forces to Zaki Biam in Benue State and Odi in Bayelsa State.

“He did not seek any audience with those victims, and it is mischievous that the former president has now come up with some advice.”

Also, Balarabe Musa, former governor of old Kaduna State, said, “Obasanjo is not credible enough to give such advice. We are talking about a problem, but what did Obasanjo do when he was there?”

Similarly, the Arewa Consultative Forum on Saturday applauded northerners for maintaining peace and understanding in the face of provocation in the aftermath of the clash between the Nigerian Army and IPOB

The northern body through its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu in a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna, also condemned the clash which led to the killing of some northerners in Rivers State.

The group commended the South-East governors on the ban placed on IPOB.

Afenifere seeks dialogue

On its part, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, endorsed the call by Obasanjo that Buhari should negotiate with IPOB.

Afenifere said the Biafran agitations could only be resolved through dialogue, noting that after the civil war, the country still engaged in dialogue for national integration.

The Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, said no step or effort that could douse the tension across the country and bring peace to the polity was too much to take.

He said, “We are for dialogue in Afenifere and support any effort that could lower tension in the country, efforts that would bring harmony and understanding.”

CAN president asks Buhari to dialogue with Kanu

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has advised the Federal Government to invite the agitators for talks with a view to finding a lasting solution to the crisis.

He said, ‘’The best way to win is to have a dialogue table whereby the Federal Government should hold on to the superior argument. That is what can move us forward.”

Ayokunle, who is also the President, Nigeria Baptist Conference, said violent agitations would further compound the problems facing Nigeria.

The cleric spoke at the inauguration of the new gate of the Bowen University, Iwo in Osun State, and the inauguration of a radio station on the campus, 101.9 FM.

Ayokunle, therefore, urged IPOB and other groups to embrace dialogue, saying that was the only way their grievances could be made known legitimately.

IPOB activities within civil order — INC

The National President of Ijaw National Congress, the apex socio-cultural umbrella body for the Ijaw people, Dr. Boma Obuoforibo, on Saturday said the use of force to silence agitating youths in the South Eastern part of the country would not bring about peace.

Obuoforibo said although the Ijaw people don’t support the call for secession, the IPOB members by their activities, had not degenerated to the point of being branded as a terrorist group.

He said, “The constitution only allows police to handle civil matters. The army’s primary responsibility is for external aggression except the situation has degenerated to a stage when the army is advised to come in. Sending the army to a civilian population is not allowed.”

The Ijaw Youth Congress also appealed to Buhari to retract the appellation of terrorists recently given to IPOB members.

The IYC maintained that the right to peaceful agitation or assembly or peaceful quest to self-determination did not amount to an act of terrorism.

Making reference to the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011 as amended, the spokesman of the group, Mr. Henry Iyalla, said it was wrong of the Nigerian Army to tag IPOB members as terrorists without following the dictates of the Act.

Security beef up in Bauchi,  calm in Ebonyi, Enugu, Owerri

Security has been beefed up in Bauchi State in view of the uprising and the clash between soldiers and IPOB members which has caused tension in many cities across the North.

The development, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt, was to forestall any breakdown of law and order in the State.

Our correspondent observed the movement of combined teams of armed security agencies in Hilux vehicles numbering over 20.

The team comprised personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Department of State Services and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi State Command, Kamal Abubakar, said the command was battle-ready.

He said, “In view of the ongoing security situation in the country especially the operation in the South-East and security reports coming from neighboring Plateau State on pockets of crises, the Bauchi State Command is ready.”

But residents of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, have been going about their legitimate and lawful businesses without any fear of molestation.

Abakaliki, Afikpo, Onueke and Ohaozara remained calm and have not witnessed the presence of military personnel since the military show of might started in the Sout-East.

One of our correspondents observed on Saturday that there was still a heavy presence of soldiers and policemen at strategic locations in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

On Eket Street, where the Umuahia Central Mosque is located, soldiers were seen guarding the building with a military van stationed at one end of the road.

Turkey disowns citizen supporting Biafran agitation

The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Nigeria has said it was committed to the territorial integrity and political unity of the country.

It denied supporting the secessionist agitations in the country and further disowned a Turkish citizen, Abdülkadir Erkahraman, who has been drumming support for the Biafran agitation.

He has also posted videos online accusing President Buhari of committing genocide.

But the mission in a statement on Saturday said Erkahraman is not a Turkish diplomat or an official representative of the Turkish government.

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Breaking News: Many injured as troops attack Kanu’s home

• SCORES of youths were allegedly injured, yesterday, as gunmen suspected to be soldiers, who came in Hilux Pick-up vans, allegedly attacked the Umuahia country home of leader of  Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

The IPOB claimed, last night, that five people were killed and about 30 others were injured in the attack.

However, videos of the clash showing clubs and stone-wielding youths, who clashed with the troop, indicated that scores were injured. One of the youths, who was shot on his right thigh was seen battling for life as his colleagues administered first aid. IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, told Vanguard that the attackers wore army and police uniforms and drove into the palace of the traditional ruler of Afaraukwu, who is the father of Nnamdi Kanu and started shooting people. 

He said in a statement: “We did not clash with anybody or group. The attackers wore Nigerian soldiers and Nigeria Police uniforms and came to kill our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in his compound at Afaraukwu, Umuahia and started shooting sporadically and killed five people and up to 30 other people had bullet wounds. 

After attacking our people, they drove off. They came in five Hilux vans.” Meanwhile one of the allegedly wounded IPOB members was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, where doctors were battling to save his live. A doctor on duty at the emergency unit of the hospital said the IPOB member sustained gunshot injury at “the thigh region.” We neither attacked nor killed anyone — Army However, a statement signed by Major Oyegoke Gbadamosi, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 14 Brigade Nigerian Army said: “The attention of 14 Brigade Nigerian Army, has been drawn to fictitious news going round especially on the social media that troops have invaded the home of Nnamdi Kanu and killed three persons. 

“This is far from the truth. Rather, it was a group of suspected IPOB militants that blocked the road against troops of 145 Battalion while on show of force along FMC-World Bank Road in Umuahia town, Abia State at about 6.00-6.30pm, today (yesterday). 

“They insisted that the military vehicles would not pass and started pelting the soldiers with stones and broken bottles to the point of injuring an innocent female passerby and a soldier, Corporal Kolawole Mathew. “The troops fired warning shots in the air and the hoodlums dispersed. No life was lost. 

“Therefore, the public are kindly enjoined to disregard the rumours going round and the fictitious photographs of purported victims of attack. “Both the soldier and the innocent female passerby have been evacuated to the unit’s Medical Inspection Room and are receiving treatment.

 “We would like to use this opportunity to warn mischief makers threatening the peace and security of the country through falsehood such as above. Members of the public are please requested to go about their lawful business and report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station or security.” 

Ohanaeze, ECA, MASSOB react Contacted on the issue, President-General of Ohanaeze, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, declined comments until after consulting with the Abia State Chairman of Ohanaeze and other Igbo leaders. Secretary of the Eastern Consultative Assembly, Evangelist Elliot Uko, wondered if the attack was a prelude to the Operation Python Dance 11 that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai, has planned to carry out in the South-East. 

‘’We (ECA) are warning that if the Army did not fish out the culprits who shot at the residence of Nnamdi Kanu, it will be setting a motion for uncontrollable crisis that will overwhelm the country. ‘’The idea of going to shoot at Nnamdi Kanu’s residence will only deepen the anger and bitterness in the land. This will be idiotic and counter-productive,’’ he said. Reacting to the development, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, said the attack was another attempt by the Chief of Army Staff to intimidate the people with an army of occupation. 

MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, who frowned at the development, called on President Muhammad Buhari and the Chief of Army Staff to order the withdrawal of soldiers from the South East without further delay or be prepared to face legal action for alleged violation of human rights. MASSOB said: ‘’President Buhari should understand that Nigeria as a signatory and member of United Nations and African Nation on human and people’s right which is enshrined in human and people rights charter, should stop violating peoples right in the name of giving security where there is no threat to security. 

“The operation python dance or Egwu-eke in Biafran land is act of frustration from Nigerian government and the Chief of Army Staff, who has failed to capture the Boko-Haram leader, Shekau on the stipulated date given to him. “General Tukur Buratai has never deemed it fit to launch operation ‘machiji or kunama meaning operation snake bite or scorpion sting respectively against the Hausa/Fulani herdsmen who went about killing people, raping women and young girls, setting people’s houses ablaze; instead, he is coming to Biafra land to launch unnecessary security operation that is needless due to no threat to security. 

“This All Progressives Congress, APC-led government is full of dictators and human right violators. We cannot run away from our fathers’ land, no amount of military and police deployment will deter us from pursuing our legitimate right for self determination which is Biafra actualization. “It is unfortunate that Chief of Army Staff and his troop have failed to restore peace in North East where Boko-Haram has been in control for many years now. 

‘’Nigerian security agents have failed to arrest Alhaji Yerima Shetima of Arewa youths and the sponsors for the quit notice they issued to Ndigbo, yet they are busy hunting for those that are not hunting them or disturbing them in any way.”

 Police confirm clash The Abia police commissioner, Leye Oyebade, who confirmed the incident, said in a text message that: “I have just spoken to the C.O. [Commanding Officer]. He said a repaired Military armoured vehicle was used to patrol the Umuahia metropolis. 

I gathered that they were shooting sporadically, which led to the IPOB group wielding daggers, throwing broken bottles at them. “Unfortunately, a police man on guard duties going to work was macheted by the IPOB group, while a soldier and a civilian were equally injured. 

All are being treated in the Police Clinic for minor injuries sustained. Normalcy has since been restored.” The alleged invasion of Kanu’s home came barely two days after the Army announced a deployment of troops to the region on a special operation it called Operation Python Dance II. Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, who disclosed this, last Friday, at a press conference, hinted also that the exercise, code-named Python Dance II, would be in five South Eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. According to the Army boss, who was represented on the occasion by the Chief of Training and Operations, Maj. Gen D.D Ahmadu, the exercise will be conducted in 82 Division area of responsibility of those five states and the exercise is scheduled to take place from September 15 to October 14, 2017. Buratai said the objective of the exercise was to effectively contain the reported cases of kidnapping and other vices prevalent in the South East every Yuletide season. 

“The need for troops to be exercised, refreshed and imbibe the requisite skills to cope with these emerging security challenges within the 82 Division area of responsibility in aid of civil authority necessitates this exercise, “he added. According to him, emphasis will be placed on raids, cordon and search operations, anti-kidnapping drills, road blocks, check points, patrols, humanitarian relief activities such as medical outreach and show of force to curb the rising threat to national security in the South Eastern part of the country.”

 “Exercise EGWU EKE II has become more expedient due to the mindless assassinations (even in religious places), attacks on security personnel and theft of weapons, kidnappings, armed banditry and violent agitations by secessionist groups, amongst other crimes that have recently bedevilled the region.

 “It is pertinent to mention that the security, safety and well-being of innocent and law-abiding citizens of the states mentioned above have been adequately factored into the planning of the exercise. Thus, the rights of individuals as enshrined in the constitution would be respected and safeguarded. 

“Additionally, EGWU EKE II is also conceptualized to transit into real time operations, thereby fulfilling both training and operational objectives of sharpening operational skills of personnel as well as providing an avenue to conduct operations against violent criminals and agitators when called upon. “As precursor to a peaceful ‘ember’ period and yuletide, provision has already been made for the smooth conduct of the exercise.

EGWU EKE II will be unique with the establishment of Brigade Headquarters in each of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. “It is noteworthy to mention that EGWU EKE II is set to be another epoch making activity that would make the nation proud of the Nigerian Army’s determination at sustaining its constitutional role of defending the territorial integrity of the nation as well as its commitment to aid the civil authority to bring about peace and security in the south eastern part of our dear country in particular, and the entire nation in general,” he said. 

He, therefore, advised members of the public, especially residents of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states not to panic as their safety and well-being was guaranteed at all times. A similar exercise was conducted  between November 27 and December 27, 2016.

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News: Abia police arraign 10 Keke operators over clash with soldiers

• THE Abia State police command yesterday arraigned 10 tricycle (Keke) operators for allegedly instigating a clash between their members and soldiers of the 14 Brigade Ohafia last Monday at Isigate in Umuahia.

Keke Napep IPOB supporters freed by army after clash with military personnel in Abia over Biafra

The suspects were arraigned before an Umuahia Magistrate Court 1 presided over by  L. Ugbaja on eight count charge of conspiring to commit felony to wit, riotous assembly. The offence is punishable under section 516A of the criminal code law cap 80, Vol- 3 laws of Abia state 2005.

The suspects were Maduka Okoro, 42; Kelechi C. Okoro 29; Onyekachi Eyera 33; David Eke 38; Udochukwu Omekara 34 and Chinedu Ogbonna, 25. Others were Chukwudi Mmesoroonye, 24; Okwudiri Nwagwu, 41; Ihedigbo Monday, 45 and Sunday Eze, 25.

Other charges against them include: act to commit a misdemeanor and malicious damage to property; taking part in riotous act; willfully and unlawfully breaking the wind shield of a Hilux vehicle property of the Nigerian army; resisting arrest and  wounding one Private Eze Kenneth of the Nigerian army.

One of the charges specifically said that Maduka Okoro on the same date disabled and wounded one Private Eze Kenneth of the Nigerian Army with his AK 47 rifle magazine which is a punishable offence and  wounding one Lance Corporal Ayaogu of the Nigerian Army.

Counsel to the suspects, Mr. G. I. Chionye argued that soldiers have no business being at Isigate extorting money from motorists. He said the offence is bailable  and applied for their bail. The presiding magistrate  granted them bail in the sum of N400,000 each and surety in like sum.

Granting them bail, Magistrate Ugbaja said  the sureties must tender before the court evidence of three years tax clearance and the case was adjourned to 18th of September this year.

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News: S/East governors deny accusing FG of Killing IPOB members

• The South-East Governors’ Forum has described a report that it accused the Federal Government of killing members of Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) members as a ’’tissue of lie from the pit of hell’’. 

• The Chairman of the forum, Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Uzor, further described the report as a figment of the imagination of the writer.

He said the report was intended to embarrass the forum and bring confusion between the governors and Federal Government to thwart the peace processes initiated with IPOB.

“The originators of the falsehood are trying to sabotage the process of moving the zone forward and achieve lasting peace in it,” Umahi said. He noted that although it was the forum’s responsibility to protect the people’s lives and property, including IPOB members, it should not be linked to politics. 

“The writer and his paymasters, failed to appreciate the peace agreements reached between the governors’ forum and leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, during its last meeting in Enugu. 

“The forum, therefore, wishes to assure the public that the communiqué raised during its last meeting with IPOB leadership still stands and anybody circulating any contrary report is Ndigbo’s real enemy. “Such reports should, therefore, be disregarded as there was no such meeting against the Federal Government by the forum,” he said. 

Umahi noted that he was quoted as issuing the statement at a time he was outside the country on an investment drive for the development of his state. 

“The forum is working in synergy with the Federal Government and other federating units towards economic and regional integration and development of the south-east region,” he said. 

The governor urged members of the public to disregard every attempt by amorphous groups to instigate crisis between the zone and the Federal Government. 

(NAN) RCO/OFN/JCE

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BREAKING NEWS: Buhari orders Service Chiefs to tackle IPOB’s secret army, Boko Haram, others

• Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin, has revealed that the issues of the alleged Secret Service of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Boko Haram menace and the various security threats plaguing the country were among what was discussed at the closed-door meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Service Chiefs.

He said President Buhari has given some directives including tackling the threats, which, he said, would be carried out by the military and the security agencies soon. Recall that a video recently in circulation captured Nnamdi Kanu inspecting a uniformed group said to be Biafra’s Secret Service (BSS).

Nnamdi Kanu and Biafra Service

The meeting between President Buhari and the national security council lasted three hours at the President’s residence in Abuja. Olonisakin said that Buhari was briefed on issues such as Biafra agitation, Boko Haram, kidnappings and quit notice.

“We have been meeting with Mr. President for the last three hours. We updated him on all security issues around the country, within the country and outside the country, where our troops are.” “Of course, we have just updated him because he is aware of what’s been happening.

He has been receiving regular briefings from the acting president and he has also been going through the print media and electronic media to follow the happenings in the country. “After the meeting, he has directed on some areas we should look at so as to enhance our operations in the country.”

“The issues of security, every security threat, all security threats were treated one after the other ranging from terrorism to kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers clash, to IPOB issue.” “In his address to the nation, he talked about the unity of the nation which is non-negotiable.

We have all been fully instructed to ensure that that directive is carried out to the letter,” he said. “We are going to enhance our operations in all the areas we need to do that. Like I said, he has given the necessary directives which will be carried out by the military and the security agencies.”

Those who attendedthe meeting were all the service chiefs, National Security Adviser, retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno and Director-General, Department of State Security, Alhaji Lawal Daura. The Service Chiefs at the meeting were the Chief of Defence, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibot-Ete Ibas.

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NEWS: Kanu tackles Osinbajo, says his view on Biafra agitation faulty, misconceived

• Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, on Wednesday, tackled the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for declaring the Biafran agitation as unconstitutional. Kanu, in a world press conference he held through his team of lawyers in Abuja, maintained that Osinbajo’s view about Biafra was “patently misconceived and inherently faulty”, despite his rank as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

In a statement signed by his lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Kanu, insisted that “extra judicial remarks” Osinbajo made before the Igbo Council of Traditional Rulers, in reference to Biafran agitation, was offensive to section 2 of the 1999 constitution, as amended. 

The statement read in part: “We are presently drifting into the narrative that had hitherto kept our client in unlawful incarceration for 18 months, in clear breach of positive orders of court that directed for his unconditional release. 

Unhealthy interference by the Executive Arm in the matter before the Court, vide pronouncements capable of putting fears in the court is a case in point. “This is evident in the recent extra judicial remarks by the Acting President, clearly contained in his presentation before the Igbo Council of Traditional Rulers, that the agitation for Biafra is unconstitutional as it offends section 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, 2011, and consequent threat of arrest and imprisonment of those that exercise their unquestionable and inalienable rights to self determination. 

“This declaration is respectfully considered as not only provocative, and unacceptable, but a clear case of undue interference with judicial process, which have the capacity of distorting the mindset of the Judicial Officer seized of our client’s case.

 “It is important to remind the Acting President that our client’s present political trial originated from his legitimate exercise of his constitutionally guaranteed rights to self determination as clearly provided for under extant laws, and international instruments/covenants.

 “It is therefore reasonably expected that any of such extra judicial remarks, should not emanate from the revered office of the Acting President. 

“With due reverence to the Acting President, and his rank as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, we deem it obligatory to state the correct position of the law as it relates to his faulty position. “We observed most respectfully that the learned silk made this remark in direct response to Quit Notice threats and ultimatum handed down to Igbos living in the Northern part of the counter, by a faceless and uninformed group, going by the name of Arewa Youths Consultative Forum. 

“But it most be noted very humbly that it is a mistake to equate the lawful and legitimate aspirations and agitations for Biafra with the lawful, illegal and illegitimate Quit Notice, and threat given to the Igbo People to leave the North by this group.

 “We submit most humbly that the right to self determination, recognizable under various instruments which Nigeria is a State Party is clearly provided for under Article 20(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) ( Act Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. “This law provides thus: Article 20 (1) ‘All Peoples shall have right to existence. They shall have the unquestionable and inalienable rights to self determination.

 They shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen’. “The above law has been in force in our jurisdiction since 1990 having been ratified vide Ratification and Enforcement Act, Laws of Federation. It is our respectful view that the declaration by the Acting President that Biafran agitation is unconstitutional, is with due respect patently misconceived and inherently faulty.

 “It is on this note that we most respectfully call on the Acting President to be more circumspect in his further remarks as it relates to a substantive charge before the court. 

There is need for total restraint, from comments, pronouncements and declarations that have the effect of distorting the pendulum, one way or the other, particularly on this phantom criminal charge”. Besides, Ejiofor who briefed newsmen alongside counsel to Kanu’s co-defendants, Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Bright Chimezie, accused the federal government of deliberately stalling frustrating full-blown hearing on the treasonable felony charge against the defendants. 

According to him, rather than to open its case on June 22, FG, served an amended five-count charge on the defendants, “in clear breach and violation of an order the court made on April 25, 2017, wherein his Lordship warned, that the court will not entertain further interlocutory application or process capable of delaying the trial”.

 He alleged that FG joined the 5th defendant, Chimezie, in the case after a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State had on May 24, not only ordered the Department of State Service to release him forthwith, but equally directed that he should be paid N5million as damages for his illegal detention. Consequently, Kanu and his co-defendants, demanded an immediate withdrawal of the amended five-count charge against them, saying they have not committed any offence that is known to law.

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BREAKING NEWS: No to regionalism, yes to resource control —Igala leaders

• We need more groups to achieve Biafra — BIM Shettima cautions agitators of secession, restructuring Boycott of Anambra election, inimical to Biafra struggle —Group
   

• THE Biafra Reformation Movement, BRM, has said the call by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to boycott Anambra governorship election is not in the interest of agitation for a separatist state of Biafra.

The group argued that such a call is an invitation to anarchy and an opportunity for Igbo enemies to unleash their desire on the Igbo nation.
It also suspected that IPOB has a hidden agenda and may be working for the Igbo enemy to declare a state of emegency in Anambra.
The group spoke as the leadership of Biafra Independence Movement, BIM, yesterday, said more pro-biafra groups were needed to ensure the realisation of the sovereign state of Biafra in the country.
This is even as Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State warned secessionist groups in the country against trying to plunge the nation into chaos, saying a refugee situation in Nigeria might be very difficult for the world to handle.

Anambra polls must hold—BRM 

Leader of BRM, Comrade Ndubuisi Igwekani (aka Agu Biafra), in a press briefing in Enugu, therefore, declared that governorship election must hold in Anambra State come November 18, 2017.
He recalled that the last time the Movememt for Actualization of Soverign State of Biafra, MASSOB, stopped Ndigbo from participating in a national census, the Igbo have continued to suffer the consequences of that careless decision.
He said: “Most Igbo were not counted and our number continued to decrease. So, we must be careful in our decisions and tactful in some actions we take, especially those that will not benefit us.
 “Asking our people to boycott elections in Anambra may be an opportunity for an enemy to rule the state and I don’t see how beneficial it is to the Biafra struggle. It is rather against the interest of our people.
 “The person championing that cause, I am even suspecting him because whether we boycott or not, elections will still hold and boycotting will not help us achieve Biafra.
Rather, we will be creating room for our enemies to come in.” On the notice of quit by Arewa youths, Igwekani, a founding member of BRM, said it is an empty threat and urged South-East governors to take steps to safeguard the lives of easterners in the north.
The group warned that should anything happen to any easterner in the North from October 1, there will be no guarantee that northerners in the east will be protected.”

We need more groups to achieve Biafra — BIM 

The leader of BIM in Ebonyi State, Mr. Nwifuru John, who stated this in Abakaliki while briefing newsmen on the activities of the group added that BIM was not against the formation of more pro-Biafra groups but that any emerging group should be non-violent.
According to Nwifuru, the emergence of more groups would help to inform the world that Ndigbo were not relenting until the struggle for Biafra is achieved. He said: “Uwazuruike has done many things since then.
 He brought back Biafra currency, even Biafra uniform we are wearing now. He has achieved so many things before other groups came out and he still loves the groups because he cannot do it alone.
 “We need more pro-Biafra groups. We cannot carry out the agitation alone and we are not against the present ones. We need more agitators to tell the world that we need Biafra.”

Shettima cautions agitators of secession, restructuring 

Shettima, who spoke with journalists, yesterday, in Abuja also noted that the elite calling for restructuring were even more divided than the people in whose interest they claim to be making such calls.
 He said many elite were today afraid of visiting the rural areas to meet with the common man for fear of being molested, noting that there is a growing wave of discontent among the masses.
“Syria has only two million refugees knocking on the gates of Europe and the whole of Europe is shaking. Imagine what would happen if we were to have 30 million refugees. All the countries around us cannot take us, especially as they are also having their own challenges,” he stated.
The governor noted that unless the country’s leadership began to think towards improving the lot of the common man in the society and working for the people, the situation would deteriorate.

No to regionalism, yes to resource control—Igala leaders 

Meantime, Igala leaders, under the aegis of Uk’omu Igala, an apolitical umbrella body of all Igala socio-cultural groups, also called for resource control as well as the creation of Okura State from the present Kogi State.
National Leader of Uk’omu Igala, Maj. Gen. Patrick Akpa (retd), said “rather than return to regional government, the Igala nation supports the federal system as it is today, but that government should create Okura State in the interest of equity, justice and fairness.”
 He said, “We reject any proposal for restructuring Nigeria, which takes us back to the idea of regionalism as if we are so forgetful about the ugly experiences of the First Republic.
“Regional governments in the First Republic squeezed and emasculated the minority ethnic nationalities in the North, West and East, and the bitterness associated with the report of the Willink Commission, which rejected the quest of minorities for separate states did not die until the premature collapse of the republic.”
 Akpa expressed Igala nation’s rejection of the proposal by the North-Central Caucus at the 2014 National Political Conference, which called for the creation of Kainji State from Niger and Kebbi States, instead of recommending the creation of Okura State, which he said has been on the front burner of political discourse since 1981.

Agitations, reflection of political temperature —YCE 

Also yesterday, a Yoruba sociocultural group, Yoruba Council of Elders, described the notice of quit by Arewa Youths and agitation for state of Biafra by IPOB as a reflection of political temperature of the country which signifies uneasiness.
 They said this after the 19th executive members meeting in Ibadan, yesterday. While speaking with newsmen, Secretary-General of the council, Dr Kunle Olajide said: “We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder because no part of the country, except the South-West, is at peace and that peace in the South-West is a peace of the graveyard.
We have the largest number of unemployed graduates and our infrastructure have collapsed. “As far as we (YCE) are concerned, the notice of quit by the Arewa Youths and the call for Biafra by IPOB are a reflection of political thermometer and temperature of Nigeria. It shows there is uneasiness in every part of this nation.”

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BREAKING NEWS: Order Kanu’s arrest for threatening Nigeria’s existence, Arewa youths tell Osinbajo

• As the tension generated by the quit notice handed Igbo in the north is yet to settle, Arewa youths on Thursday stirred another controversy by asking the Presidency to order the immediate arrest and detention of the self-acclaimed Biafran leader, Nnamdi Kanu, over what they called threats to Nigeria’s corporate existence.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja, the Speaker of the Arewa Youth Assembly, AYA, Mohammed Salihu and the Clerk, Desmond Minakaro, accused the federal government of aiding and abetting the IPOB leader to breach the bail conditions handed him by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja and inciting Nigerians against the government at major rallies in the South South and South East states.
The Northern youth leaders wondered why the government has allowed Kanu to grow wings and threaten national peace and security with inciting statements capable of destroying the country without calling him to order.
The Arewa youths said it was disappointing that despite the clear bail conditions reeled out by Justice Nyako, Kanu had brazenly violated all including the ban on organising rallies and press conference and being with any crowd of more than ten persons at any time.
 The youth leaders said, “The Leadership of Arewa Youth Assembly has observed with keen interest the high level of lawlessness exhibited by Nnamdi Kanu since he was granted bail in June this year and the conspiracy of silence displayed by the federal government and its security agencies in the face of such affront by the IPOB leader. No doubt, this lawlessness is capable of disintegrating this country.
 “The level of insecurity and youth agitations calls for concern by all well meaning Nigerians. These threats have turned our country in a place of uncertainty and now a laughing stock within the international communities.
 Nigerians now live in a state of fear and trauma for the fear of the unknown. “Any nation or institution which cannot abide by its own laws, rules and regulations is bound to fail and not worthy of being a nation or institution. It is on record that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja presided by Honourable Justice Binta Nyako on the 28th April, 2017, granted bail to one Mr. Nnamdi Kanu on health grounds with about 12 conditions attached to his Bail.
 “Gentlemen of press, you will all agree with us that the said Nnamdi Kanu has openly violated his bail conditions, chief among which are that he should not address a press conference; a rally and should not be in a gathering of not more than ten persons.
 “The most surprising and amazing of this is that the Federal Government is watching while Nnamdi Kanu is creating a state within a State, threatening to stop Anambra State gubernatorial election by holding rallies in South South and South East states and using provocative and inciting words, granting interviews to the press, which pose a threat to national unity and security.
“This level of lawlessness has left us with no option than to doubt the ability of our Acting President to successfully preside over the affairs of our country. Our Acting President seems to be under the control of some cabals when it comes to decision-making.
 “We therefore, wish to advise the Acting President to sit up and be in firm control of the government of Nigeria and begin to address the myriads of issues threatening the unity of this great nation,” the Arewa youths said.
The youths said they were planning a national peace summit in Abuja early next month as a means of bringing together youths from all parts of the country to brainstorm on the way forward for Nigeria instead of seeking to divide the nation for selfish interest.

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Quit notice: Return home, MASSOB tells Igbo in North

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, said the people of the South-East living in the 19 states of the North were not under any threat despite the October  1 deadline. The group also reiterated its earlier stance that anything said by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro should not be attributed to Ohanaeze youths as he is  still on suspension.

But the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, yesterday, directed Igbo residing in the northern part of the country to  return to the East by August 2017 to beat the October 1 deadline quit notice given by Arewa youths.

In a similar vein, the Umu Afor Igbo General Assembly, UAIGA, yesterday, said the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo was not speaking  the mind of the South-East region at its meeting with Arewa youths.

MEETING: From left; Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former Governor of Anambra State; DIG Hilary Opara; Deputy President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and Senator Ike Nwachukwu during the meeting of South East and South South leaders and dinner for New President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide at Chief E.K. Clark’s house in Apapa, Lagos, yesterday. Photo by Diran Oshe.

Ndigbo in North not under any threat The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Chairman of Ohanaeze, Mazi Odozi Nwodozi, who made the clarification in a statement in Abuja, on behalf of the leadership of the Igbo in the North, told Ndigbo to ignore a statement allegedly credited to the coordinator of Northern Ohanaeze Youth, Obinna Nwankwo, saying he lacked the mandate to speak for the Igbo.

Nwodozi, who was Vice President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Anioma/Delta chapter stated that since the quit notice was issued to Ndigbo, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, had commenced wide but strategic consultations with relevant persons and groups both within and outside the north with the singular aim of diffusing the tension, and securing the Igbo populace.

The FCT President of Ohanaeze in the statement said: “It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Igbo in the north, the statements of some opportunistic alarmists who are trying to create non existing fears, and consequent panic in the minds of Igbo residing in the north of an impending massacre and wanton looting of their property.

“This position is encapsulated in a recent press statement issued by one Mr. Obinna Nwankwo who arrogates to himself a non-existing position of Northern Coordinator of Ohanaeze Youth Council.” On the position of Ohanaeze leadership on the raging matter, he said: “That we wish to reiterate once again that Ndigbo in the north as represented by the Igbo Delegates Assembly, IDA, under the leadership of Chief Chi Nwogwu, totally condemn and dissociate themselves from the shameful, beggarly and degrading parley between the suspended Ohanaeze Youth Council and some northern youths.

Disowns Ohanaeze Northern Youth Council “That we were not consulted before the purported parley; which we wouldn’t have attended or mandate our youth wing to attend as the characters that were at the centre of it lack the blessings of the Igbo leadership.

“We, hereby, call on Ndigbo in the north to remain calm and resolute, bearing in mind that the leadership structure of Ndigbo both at the political and socio-cultural levels are working tirelessly to ensure the maximum safety of the Igbo in the north. “Ndigbo should ignore the alarmist tendencies of jingoist and opportunists and go about their lawful endeavours as they will be communicated through established channels if the need arises.”


Return home in August—MASSOB But MASSOB  in its view as portrayed by the  National Information Officer, Mr. Samuel Edesonu, said that the decision to urge Igbo people to come back home in August was taken at its national executive meeting presided over by the MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu. According to Edesonu, August was chosen because of its significance in Igbo calendar as the period for new yam festival and women’s August meeting and charged the Igbo, especially women, to persuade their loved ones (husbands and children) to come home unfailingly. MASSOB directed all the Eze Igbo in the 19 northern states to commence immediately the compilation of names, residential addresses and villages/towns of all Igbo living in their respective northern cities where they live, advising that such data collation of the people should end by September 10, 2017.

 According to the statement, the Biafra Intelligence Agency had also been deployed to  northern Nigeria to monitor the situation in all the cities. The statement read: ”In continuation of our earlier stand and position on the quit notice to the people of Biafra by Arewa people, which will elapse on October 1, MASSOB  insists and beckons on Biafrans living in Arewa land to intensify efforts in  relocating their families back home. “MASSOB has resolved that the month of August being a significant month of special festivals of Iri ji (new yam festival) and Women August meeting in Igbo land, should be a special month of mass return for all Igbo living in northern Nigeria.

“MASSOB also mandates all married Igbo women living in northern Nigeria to start intimating their husbands about the dangers of staying in Arewa land, which no longer guarantees their safety. They should also intensify pressure on their husbands concerning the mass return next month. “After the September 10 deadline for this compilation, MASSOB will embark on investigation of all the Eze Ndigbo in northern cities to ascertain their level of participation in this ancestral order. “MASSOB urges the Eze Ndigbo in northern cities to carry out this compilation of our kinsmen data as a native and ancestry exercise and we appeal to them not to betray this act of nobility because of their individual interests or favors from Hausa-Fulani.

“MASSOB under the leadership of Comrade Uchenna Madu will continue undeterred in non-violence pursuant of Biafra  actualisation and restoration.” Ohanaeze youths not speaking for Igbo The UAIGA President-General, Mr. Ejike Ikezuagu, stated this in Owerri, while reacting to the recent meeting between Ohanaeze and Arewa youths over the quit notice.

 According to Ikezuagu, “for Ohanaeze youths to privately organise themselves as leaders to speak for Igbo is against our Igbo tradition. Ohanaeze’s meeting with the Arewa youths and the outcome of the meeting are a slap on our faces as Ndigbo. “It is inappropriate for a group of two and three individuals constituting themselves as leaders without the consent of the people to speak for Igbo. It is unacceptable and a taboo in Igbo culture. “OYC should be reminded that the supreme power to engage in such move rests in the body of the representatives entitled to vote or chose and it is exercised by the family representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

“And this is why we have set up Umu Afo Igbo National Assembly as assembling ground for our people to discuss issues for a solution to be adopted.” OYC leadership on suspension —Ohanaeze National Deputy Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo , Chuks Ibegbu, similarly stated that “ the National Executive Commitee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo still re-iterates that the national leadership of  Ohanaeze Youth Council led by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro was suspended by the last NEC of  Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the suspension has not been lifted.

“Any statement credited to any official of the suspended wing bears no authorisation from Ohanaeze National Executive Committee. It’s only the President General and the Publicity Unit/any other official authorised or  mandated to do so that can speak on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo,” he said. ‘Ndigbo in North not under any threat’ In a similar vein, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Chairman of Ohanaeze, Mazi Odozi Nwodozi, who made the clarification in a statement in Abuja, on behalf of the leadership of the Igbo in the North, told Ndigbo to ignore a statement allegedly credited to the coordinator of Northern Ohanaeze Youth, Obinna Nwankwo, saying he lacked the mandate to speak for the Igbo. Nwodozi, who was Vice President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Anioma/Delta chapter stated that since the quit notice was issued to Ndigbo, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, had commenced wide but strategic consultations with relevant persons and groups both within and outside the north with the singular aim of diffusing the tension, and securing the Igbo populace.

The FCT President of Ohanaeze in the statement said: “It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Igbo in the north, the statements of some opportunistic alarmists who are trying to create non existing fears, and consequent panic in the minds of Igbo residing in the north of an impending massacre and wanton looting of their property.

This position is encapsulated in a recent press statement issued by one Mr. Obinna Nwankwo who arrogates to himself a non-existing position of Northern Coordinator of Ohanaeze Youth Council.” On the position of Ohanaeze leadership on the raging matter, he said: “That we wish to reiterate once again that Ndigbo in the north as represented by the Igbo Delegates Assembly, IDA, under the leadership of Chief Chi Nwogwu, totally condemn and dissociate themselves from the shameful, beggarly and degrading parley between the suspended Ohanaeze Youth Council and some northern youths.” Disowns Ohanaeze Northern Youth Council “That we were not consulted before the purported parley; which we wouldn’t have attended or mandate our youth wing to attend as the characters that were at the centre of it lack the blessings of the Igbo leadership.

 “We, hereby, call on Ndigbo in the north to remain calm and resolute, bearing in mind that the leadership structure of Ndigbo both at the political and socio-cultural levels are working tirelessly to ensure the maximum safety of the Igbo in the north. “Ndigbo should ignore the alarmist tendencies of jingoist and opportunists and go about their lawful endeavours as they will be communicated through established channels if the need arises.

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BIAFRA: Igbo crave for a better Nigeria – Balarabe

• Veteran politician and second republic governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, while sharing the Igbo view that they have not had their fair share in the scheme of things in Nigeria since the time of the civil war, however, disagreed that majority of the Igbo are in support of Biafra. 

• According to him, the number of the Igbo people asking for Biafra is not more than 10 percent. 

He told Sunday Vanguard, last week, in an interview: “Sincerely speaking, the South-East has not had a fair-share since the civil war. Their marginalization is quite obvious. But if the policy of reconstruction, reintegration and reconciliation of Gen.Gowon and the late Gen. Murtala’s administrations had continued, the agitation by the few Igbo for Biafra state would have been a thing of the past. It is the marginalization that is making a small section of the Igbo to agitate for Biafra. If the reconstruction and reconciliation had been sustained, there wouldn’t have been any need for Biafra because the number of those Igbo asking for Biafra is not more than 10 percent. The majority of the Igbo crave for a better Nigeria particularly because of their experience and they are prepared to fight for the unity of Nigeria. Majority of Igbo leaders have said in clear terms that they want a better Nigeria where they can expand because they are enterprising in nature. As you are aware, people who are enterprising would prefer a big community as against a small one. Some of them desire a better Nigeria because they don’t want the previous experience of war to repeat itself. But the agitation for Biafra is a ticking time-bomb just as the level of poverty in Nigeria. Like I said earlier, the system of development in Nigeria tend to divide the people. There were times in history when the Igbo were targeted and isolated because they were enterprising and because of the system that operates in Nigeria.  And probably the system could marginalize everybody until there is a brutal revolution. The Biafra timeline * December 1964 Federal elections * October 1965 Regional elections *Post-election violence in Western Nigeria (1965/66) *The military takes over the Government: (January 1966) *Anti-Ironsi demonstrations and killing of Igbos in the North (April/May 1966) *Overthrow of Ironsi’s regime and death of Ironsi (July 1966) *Gowon seizes power, and in consultation with only Northern officers and politicians, forms government. Killings of Igbo officers continues unabated. (August 1966) *Ojukwu offers to confer with Gowon to end bloodshed and asks for repatriation of troops to their regional origins to lower tension; says offer was refused by Gowon. (August 1966) *Out of safety concerns, Ojukwu refuses to go to Lagos for meeting of the 4 regional military governors but is still hopeful of peace resolution. (August 1966) *Mass exodus of over 300,000 Igbos from the North to the East resulting from flare up of many riots and Igbo killings. (August 1966) *Ojukwu declares official day of mourning and Gowon condemns it.(August 1966) *Gowon issues decree restoring the Federal system and abolishing the unitary Government. (August 1966) *Regional representatives convene a conference to determine grounds for unity. Gowon opens conference with offer of 4 forms of government. (August 1966) *Over 2000 Igbos are massacred in Kano on September 29th, 1966 by a combination of Hausa mobs and troops of the fifth battalion in Kano. Further Igbo exodus * A DC-4 carrying weapons to Eastern Nigeria crashes in Cameroon and Henry A. Wharton, a German-American is arrested.(October 1966) *Gowon suspends the constitutional conference. (November 1966) *Eastern Region faced with resettlement of refugees. (December 1966) *Gowon and 4 military Governors confer in Aburi, Ghana. Optimism expressed about the future. (January 1967) *Nigeria confirms the death of Ironsi; flags fly at half mast. (January 1967) *Easter region accuses federal government of failure to implement the Aburi accord and warns that the country is on the brink of political disintegration. (March 1967) *Ojukwu warns that the East will secede if invaded or blockaded. Both sides mobilize civilians (May 1967) * Awolowo announces that West/Lagos will secede if the East goes. (May 1967) *Political situation deteriorates due to non-implementation of Aburi accord. Ojukwu expresses pessimism at a negotiated settlement. (May 1967) *As impasse continues, Ojukwu seeks mandate from Eastern Assembly to Declare Biafra. (May 1967) *Gowon divides Nigeria into 12 states/Biafra is declared. (May 1967) *Nigeria invades Biafra. (July 1967) *The Mid-west operation and Biafra’s military setbacks. Losses of Nsukka and Enugu. The saboteur phenomenon (August 1967) *Wale Soyinka is arrested and detained; Biafra looses the Mid-west. (August 1967) * Nigeria frees two jailed Americans (January 1968) *Gowon Under Pressure to End War. (January 1968) *Nigerian old Bank Notes Arrive in Geneva. (January 1968) *Ojukwu calls for Cease-fire and Negotiations. (January 1968) *manliness Tiger Joins Biafran Army (January 1968) *Gowon sets 3-months deadline to defeat Biafra (January 1968) *United States Affirms Its Support for one Nigeria. (February 1968) * Commonwealth Secretary Arrives in Lagos. (February 1968) *Dr. Martin Luther King cancels Nigerian Trip. (March 1968) *Monsignor Rochcau Reports on Midwest Genocide. (April 1968) *Tanzania Becomes the First Country to recognize the Republic of Biafra as a sovereign State. (April 1968) *France announced support for Biafra and calls for settlement of dispute on basis of self determination. (July 1968) *Addis Ababa talk opens with Ojukwu present but not Gowon. Ojukwu delivers two hours and ten minutes address insisting that only sovereignty can guarantee security for Biafrans. Ojukwu leaves talk accompanied by two Gabonese officials whose presence Nigeria had protested. (August 1968) *Activities of Biafra 4th Commando Division under Major R. Steiner and five other white officers. (August 1968) *Noted Swedish pilot, Count Von Rosen flies food and medicine to Biafra through secret route immune from Nigerian anti-aircraft fire. (August 1968) *Biafrans display 98 Nigerian troops that surrendered as a unit. (August 1968) *Nigerian troops push for Aba, cross Imo River but encounter Biafran resistance at Akwete; Ojukwu announced that Nigerian thrust on Aba has been effectively checked, but sources say Ojukwu has moved his headquarters to Umuahia (August 1968). *Gowon orders “final offensive” (August 1968) *Biafra faces imminent collapse in September/October 1968 as Nigerian forces take Aba, Owerri and Okigwe in rapid succession. Umuahia is the only sizeable town in Biafra’s hands. (September 1968) *Charles de Gaulle in interview hints at possibility of recognizing Biafra and admits that France has been aiding Biafra. (September 1968) *Nigerian troops threaten Umuahia but Biafrans are defiant.(September 1968) *International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suspends relief flights to Biafra because Uli Airport is badly damaged by Nigerian bombs and Nigerian forces are rapidly approaching Ohi- Uturu airstrip. (September 1968) *Nigerian forces near Oguta bringing Uli Airport within artillery range. Ojukwu reportedly visits Biafra commanders at Oguta and gives them 24 hours to clear Nigerian forces from within artillery range of Uli airport.(September 1968) *Nigeria announces capture of Owerri and march on Umuahia. *Zambia’s President Kenneth Kaunda announces that Biafra will be allowed to set up government in Exile in Zambia, if defeated.(September 1968) *As Biafra loses Aba, Owerri, and Okigwe in rapid succession, Ojukwu asks China for help to counter what he called “Anglo-American imperialism and Soviet revisionism”. (September 1968) 1969 *De Gaulle urges “recognition of right to self-determination for valiant Biafra” (January 1969) *Mobil Oil Corporation sponsors visit of J.S. Tarka to United States to counter Pro-Biafran sentiments. (January 1969) *In Enugu, the Nigerian Army executes 3 Igbos accused of attempting to assassinate Nigeria’s 1st Division Commander. Col. Mohammed Shuwa. (January 1969) * Nigerian Government prepares for another final offensive. Nigerian Government spokesman says Biafra must be defeated by the end of February or growing international support will make Nigerian victory impossible. (February 1969) 

*About 300 civilians (with eventual toll over 500) are killed by the Nigerian air force at Umuohiagu market. (February 1969) 

*Ojukwu, in a speech to Biafra’s consultative assembly in Umuahia, says that Nigerian Government has began their “last desperate effort”, but bars any Biafran surrender. States “land army program” will increase agricultural effort. (February 1969) 

*United States New York Senator, Goodell et al, arrive in Biafra. (February 1969) 

*U.S. Congressional delegation headed by Representative Diggs of Michigan arrive Biafra. (February 1969) *Nigerian government reject peace formula proposed by Dr. Azikiwe (February 1969)

 *Ojukwu expresses hope that De Gaulle, in his forthcoming meeting with Richard Nixon, will convince Nixon to press for cease-fire in the war. Ojukwu, in an interview, discusses three ways in which the war may end. (February 1969) 

*British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, arrives Nigeria for state visit 29/3/69. Wilson invites Ojukwu to meet with him outside Biafra. Warns Gowon that bombing of Biafran civilians is eroding the remnant of British support for the war(March 1969) 

*Ojukwu rejects Wilson’s invitation; calls invitation “political propaganda exercise”. (April 1969)

 *Ojukwu is promoted to Major General and given new mandate to continue the war. (May 13, 1969)

 * Colonels Adekunle and Haruna, commanders of Nigeria’s 3rd and 2nd Divisions respectively are relived from their posts. (May 1969) 

* Pius Okigbo, Biafra’s rep. to the U.S. urges U.S. to recognize Biafra. (May 1969) 

*ICRC (Red Cross) Director, Dr. August Lindt and aides are detained for 16 hours by Nigeria with no charges. (May 1969) 

*Youth, B. Mayrock, of Old. Westbury, New York, sets himself on fire and dies in protest against Genocide in Biafra. (May 1969) 

*Biafra marks 2nd anniversary of nationhood. Ojukwu, in address, says Biafran forces are ready to meet expected Nigerian offensive. ( May 1969) 

*Biafran forces raid Kwale, across the Niger, killing 11 oil technicians (10 Italians and 1 Jordanian). Biafra captures 17 other oil workers (14 Italian and 3 W. Germans.) Biafra sentences them to death. (June 1969) 

*Pope writes letter to Ojukwu regarding lives of Oilmen captures in the Mid-West. (June 1969) 

*Wole Soyinka is reported seriously ill in Kaduna Prison, where he is incarcerated without trial. (June 1969) 

* Biafra frees captured Oilmen.(June 1969)

 *Nixon urges end of impasse on relief shipments. (June 1969) Wale Soyinka is freed. (October 1969)

 *Canadian Prime Minister accuses Biafran authorities of being interested in receiving arms, not food and medical supplies. (November 1969)

 *Nigerian forces open offensives on both Northern and Southern borders of Biafra, ending a seven month lull. (December 1969) 

*Biafran delegates arrive at Addis Ababa for new peace talks but Nigerian delegates were absent. (December 1969) 

*Ojukwu, in Christmas speech, says that Biafra is faced with the toughest military test of the war. (December 1969) 1970 As war enters 30th month, Nigerian troops report they’ve cut Biafra into three parts. (January 3) 

*Massive Nigerian troops link up and pressure cause refugees to stream into Owerri as Biafra nears collapse. (January 4th) 

*Ojukwu announces over Radio Biafra that he is flying out of Biafra to explore possibilities for peace. (January 11th) 

*Nigerian forces reportedly recaptures Owerri and are moving on Uli Airport. Pandemonium and fright as millions of Biafran refugees clog roads in chaotic flight from advancing Nigerian troops and artillery fire. (January 11) 

*Biafra appears near collapse as Nigeria confirms recapture of Owerri, and Uli airport is virtually destroyed by artillery fire. (January 11) 

*Biafra capitulates, ending a 30-month war that cost an estimated two million lives on both sides. (January 11)

 *General Effiong, in radio broadcast, orders Biafran troops to lay down their arms and says he is sending representatives to meet with the Nigerian field commanders to negotiate armistice. ( January 13) 

*Gowon, in broadcast, rejects all relief aid from countries or groups that aided Biafra. (January 14) 

*Nigerian Red Cross claims sole responsibility for distribution of relief. (January 15) 

*Last Missionaries to Leave Biafra Describe the Beginning of the End. (January 15)

 *Biafrans Scramble to get on the Last Plane. (January 15) 

*Effiong makes formal surrender statement/declaration in a ceremony in Lagos. (January 16) *Ojukwu appeals to the world to help save Biafrans in a statement released for him in Geneva by Markpress. (January 16) 

*Last observers to leave Biafra describe the beginning of the end. (January 16) 

*Nigeria Expels 4 Journalists for Visiting the East without Permission. (January 17) 

*General Effiong reassures the Nigerian Government that the Biafran forces hiding in the bushes will not wage guerilla war. (January 18) 

*Portugal offers asylum to all Biafran refugees and says it will maintain its facilities at Sao Tome for relief operation. (January 19) 

*Nigeria thanks USSR; Ambassador George T. Kurubo says Soviet aid to Nigeria was the most important factor in the defeat of Biafra. (January 21) 

*Nigeria drops safe conduct passes to remote areas to persuade Biafran troops and civilians to come out from hiding places. (January 21) 

*Obasanjo Detains 80 Journalists in Port Harcourt. (January 21)

 *Gowon, After Stalling, Increases Money for Relief Distribution; First News Conference since End of the War. (January 22) 

* Gabon Offers Asylum to Biafran Exiles. (January 22) 

* Nigeria Grappling with Troop Brutality and Indiscipline. (January 23) 

*Unabated Food Shortage in Biafra. (January 23) 

*British Team Deplores Indiscipline among Nigerian Troops. (January 24) 

*Ojukwu is given asylum in the Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast Government says he will refrain from all political activities. (January 24) 

Source: Nairaland

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BIAFRA: Uwazurike tackles Kanu

• I assured Ojukwu MASSOB will never resort to violence and that there would be no war again in Nigeria 

• MASSOB has gone beyond marching on the streets to  diplomatic moves

Chief Ralph Uwazurike, the founder of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB is unhappy and that may not be unconnected with the fact that he, of recent, is being relegated to the background on the issue of Biafra agitation. 

The man of the moment, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who Uwazurike said he employed and handed over the Radio Biafra he set up as part of the agitation process, has been getting all the attention of late. Uwazurike is also worried that many people, including the media, had not appreciated his sacrifices towards the actualization of Biafra.

 But he insists that only his style of approach can lead to the actualization of Biafra, describing as an act of wickedness, the insinuation that he was a sell-out on the issue of the struggle. Since the launching in Aba, Abia State in 1999, MASSOB under Uwazurike continually alleged mass arrests and killings of its members by government forces. 

He had also consistently embarked on programmes aimed at actualizing Biafra and was indeed the arrow head of the agitation. For the first 10 years of the formation of MASSOB by Uwazurike, the body and its members/supporters were very active but non-violent. For instance, in May 2008, MASSOB released a list of 2,020 members alleged to have been killed by security agents since 1999. 

Uwazuruike was arrested on several occasions and charged with treason. In 2011, he and 280 MASSOB members were arrested in Enugu while attending a function in honour of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Few days later, however, former President Goodluck Jonathan ordered Uwazuruike’s release, as well as all other MASSOB members in detention. MASSOB thereafter launched the Biafran passport in 2009 as part of the program to celebrate its 10th anniversary and Uwazuruike, said the introduction of the Biafran passport was in response to persistent demands from Biafrans in Diaspora In 2005, MASSOB re-introduced the old Biafran currency into circulation. 

This sparked a lot of excitement at the time especially as one Biafran pound was said to exchange for two hundred and seventy naira at the border communities of Togo and the Republic of Benin. In February 2013, MASSOB claimed that several corpses found floating in the Ezu River on the boundary of Enugu and Anambra States were those of its members previously arrested by the police. 

The group claimed that the police routinely executed MASSOB members without proper trial. On September 13, 2015 police in Anambra state arrested about 25 MASSOB members who were marking their 16th anniversary and one of them was shot. At St Charles Lwanga Catholic Church Okpoko,18 members were arrested and one shot and at Iba Pope Catholic Church, while at Awada, 11 members of MASSOB were arrested. At Awka, two MASSOB members were arrested by the police. 

On May 31, 2013, Uwazurike’s MASSOB was branded as one of three extremist groups threatening the security of Nigeria. In fact former President Goodluck Jonathan declared that the Nigerian state faced three fundamental security challenges posed by extremist groups which he listed as Boko Haram in the North; the MASSOB in the South-East; and the Oodua People’s Congress OPC, in the South-West..

 But following his disagreement with a section of MASSOB members, the bubble burst and the man, who was almost invincible in the Biafra agitation, started receiving knocks from people who hitherto, were adoring him. One of the allegations was that he abandoned some MASSOB members who were incarcerated in various Nigerian prisons. 

He however defended himself, saying such a thing never happened. He told Saturday Vanguard: “The impression being created was that someone paid me to stop the struggle. This is unfair. Or do people expect me to start fighting Nnamdi Kanu? Or do people think you are fighting for Biafra when you kneel down in public places to make show?   How can anybody hold the view that I am a sell-out? “I set up Radio Biafra in 1999 and handed it over to Nnamdi Kanu for the good of the struggle, but what did I get in return? Someone I employed used the radio station I set up to blackmail me. 

Where did I go wrong? And if you were to be Uwazurike, what will you do under such a situation? If I didn’t set up MASSOB, how could Nnamdi Kanu have had a platform to start what he is doing?” Stressing that his approach to the struggle is what would ultimately lead to the actualization of Biafra, Uwazurike added: “On May 22nd, we organized a ceremony in which over one million people participated in Onitsha and other cities and this was reported by the media. It was the same in Aba, Enugu, Owerri and other cities, yet people are saying that I am backsliding or that I am a sell-out. 

“Do you also know that I built 20 houses at Okwe, Imo State, for the wounded Biafra soldiers who were begging for alms at Oji River and I pay them salary every month? Today, there are no more Biafra soldiers begging for alms at that spot. 

“Only last month, I risked my life to travel to the North for the sake of Biafra and I was at Arewa House in Kaduna where I met people, yet the media and Igbo people do not appreciate my sacrifices. How would you feel if you were to be in my position?” Uwazurike, who led a delegation of Igbo leaders from the South East, told some youth groups at the Arewa House in Kaduna that MASSOB had pursued the path of peace since its creation in 1999 and would continue to do so.

 He continued: “Self-determination without violence is a fundamental right, we must strive against sowing the seed of discord  but do all that will promote peace and justice in Nigeria. 

There is a gap in communication from our leaders which needs to be bridged, hence we are meeting with notable leaders in the north to persuade them that there is no cause for alarm, “We have overgrown the era of marching the streets with Biafran flags.

 MASSOB is now consolidating on building structures and diplomatic negotiations with other countries, recalling that there was a re-declaration of Biafra on May 22nd, 2000, submission of Biafra Bill of rights to United Nations and his attendance of OAU Summit in Lome, Togo in 2000, among other achievements..

 “MASSOB existed for 18 years without violence and in 2009, I went to London and opened Radio Biafra and handed it over to Nnamdi Kanu as the director. Soon afterwards, politicians hijacked him, and he started working for them. 

“The radio that was meant to educate our people and advise our people was turned into a source of hate messages, blackmail, intimidation and others.

 The resultant effect was that the northern youths came up to challenge us, to say that they are not happy with the hate messages and the insults they receive from the same radio.

 “The main purpose of floating the organization called MASSOB was not to cause crisis in Nigeria. I assured the late Odumegu Ojukwu when he was alive that there would be no other civil war in Nigeria. 

Because he, Ojukwu, was so concerned and wanted some measure of assurance from me that MASSOB would not cause problems in Nigeria, I gave him that assurance.”

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