Unic Press UK: The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu said Wednesday that he will not attend a scheduled meeting with South East governors’.
In a statement, Kanu said:
“… I may not be able to attend Friday’s meeting with the South-East governors as earlier agreed, for three main reasons.
“1.) We are currently busy attending to our dead and injured from this latest round of unprovoked military onslaught against innocent civilians in our own land. All the casualties so far were shot by men of the Nigerian Army deployed to my house and those stationed along motor ways leading into Umuahia my hometown.
“2.) I have been reliably informed also, that a detachment of this same soldiers responsible for the murder of innocent unarmed IPOB family members have now been stationed near Enugu to ambush and assassinate me on my way to the meeting with the governors on Friday.
“3.) On that same Friday the 15th of September 2017, the leadership of IPOB through the instrumentality of the Directorate of State (DOS) headquartered in Germany, will be meeting to vote on the viability or otherwise of continuing our struggle in this non-violent manner. There is urgent need to begin the process of defending ourselves in the face of relentless murderous attacks from the Nigerian state.
“It is impossible to engage in any meaningful conversation with the governors in the midst of so much bloodshed, abductions and military siege of our town and villages. Accordingly, we will not engage in any meeting with anybody until the atmosphere is conducive and peaceful enough to allow for such.”
Biafra: NNAMDI KANU Turns Down Meeting With SE Governors, Gives Reasons: September 13, 2017… https://t.co/Vbwr9oGtzY
— Radio Biafra (@radiobiafralive) September 13, 2017
The Nigerian army laying siege at Nnamdi Kanu home – IPOB
The Nigerian military will be embarking on an operation [it named Python Dance II] in the South East region of Nigeria, primarily in the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army area of responsibility, covering (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo state). The operation will commence on Friday 15 September to finish on Saturday 14 October 2017.
Python Dance II is on a mission to curb mindless assassinations, attacks on security personnel, cultism, theft of weapons, armed banditry, kidnapping and violent agitations, in the South East, the Nigerian army said.
Despite the stance of the Nigerian military on the purpose of its Python Dance II, there are widespread allegations that the quarries of this military sojourn are primarily the IPOB members given recent happenings. During a procession with armored personnel carriers on 10th September 2017, at circa 18:30 hrs, the Nigerian forces reportedly fired live ammunition in the area where IPOB leader lives, causing pandemonium and severe injuries on several innocent civilians. The videos/images showing brutality against civilians litter the internet, particularly YouTube, Facebook, Twitter.
In a statement on 10th September 2017, IPOB said:
“The Nigerian army… invaded the compound of the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu, with amoured tank, shooting at people on site. We the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB are hereby placing the international community on notice, the life of the leader of IPOB Nnamdi Kanu is in grave danger now. We are calling on the United Nation, EU, AU and the world at large to do the needful to avoid another genocide in Biafra land.”
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu extends curfew
The initial curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. that started on Tuesday, the 12th September, ending on Thursday, the 14th September, has been extended. In a press statement Wednesday, the chief press secretary to the governor of Abia state Enyinnaya Appolos said:
“The Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has extended the three days curfew imposed on Aba to Friday, 15th September 2017. The Governor wishes to advice residents and visitors to fully co-operate with security agents to ensure continuing maintenance of law and order within the commercial city and environs. He also wishes to express his displeasure with the situation where people are compelled to raise their hands while passing through security checkpoints and hereby call on security agents and all concerned to ensure that such acts, and other forms of inhumane and barbaric treatment of people, are discontinued immediately.”
South-East caucus in Senate cautions Nigerian military
The Senate’s South East Caucus chairman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, expressed concerns over the presence of heavy military artillery in densely populated areas of the South East at peace time. He said:
“We had hoped that our ongoing engagement with the group would be given a chance but here we are with a hurried military action deep into a highly populated area with high propensity for casualty, which occurrence would rather escalate the already tense situation. It is more worrisome that military operation, ‘Python Dance 2,’ restricted to the South-East in a peace time, has no doubt fouled the environment and sent strong signal that the region is under siege, which should not be so in a democracy. We, therefore, urge extreme caution and advise the military to de-escalate the situation and choose the best operational modus that will not only guaranty the safety of Nigerians but also enhance national unity. Nigeria is not at war, people are only exercising their constitutional and universally guaranteed rights, so far they are carrying on in a manner that has never given room to violence which could warrant a wholesale military expedition.”
About IPOB
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are seeking a referendum on Biafra independence from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
IPOB claims to be the original inhabitants and the owners of the lands and communities of Biafra and Biafraland presently located in the South East region, some parts of South South region and some parts of the Middle Belt of Nigeria.
The group is led by Nnamdi Kanu, a Nigeria cum British national.
