By Tony Okafor, Awka
The Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB) has pledged its support for the abolition of sit-at-home exercise in Enugu State as announced by the state’s governor, Peter Mba.
The secessionists stated this in a statement issued on Monday by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful.
It restated that IPOB had since called off the exercise in the entire South-East, but that criminals continued to enforce it to harm and exploit the people.
The separatists, however, cautioned Mba not to behave like his counterpart, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, who had earlier decreed against sit-at-home in Anambra State but with poor methodology.
The secessionist group prayed,” Dr. Peter Mba, please never make the same mistake, Prof. Soludo made by using Nigeria compromised Security to stop monday sit-at-home . Any attempt to use murderous Fulani controlled security to stop the sit-at-home is an indirect way of killing our people.
“Such moves will always be counterproductive. We support him to stop the Monday sit-at-home, and we have stopped the sit-at-home. Such measures failed in Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra, and it will fail in Enugu.
“Allow the Monday sit-at-home to die off naturally by engaging our people. Meanwhile, IPOB is on standby to assist on the best approach to end Monday sit-at-home, where it still exists so that we it won’t escalate the tensed security situation. If you use force on our people, you will fail.
The separatists added, “After our leadership initiated the Monday sit-at-home order to demand for the release of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently being illegally detained at DSS dungeon, directed IPOB leadership to stop the sit-at-home to avoid criminals capitalizing on that to harm our people.
“Though some Biafrans continued with Monday sit-at-home voluntarily, as our leader predicted, after the suspension order, some criminals and infiltrators hijacked it and started committing crimes and enforcing non-existant Monday sit-at-home.
“It is obvious that Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mba should be made aware that IPOB has already suspended Monday sit-at-home. For him to publicly associate IPOB with Monday sit-at-home is obnoxious. If indeed Mr. Governor Mba wants to return normalcy on Mondays he will have the support of IPOB because the criminals enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home are criminals.
The group maintained that anybody still enforcing the Monday sit-at-home order was not helping IPOB and Kanu, adding that everybody in the zone should be coming out on Mondays for their business.
The group’s statement further read,” However, the governor must know that Nigeria Police know the criminals and the hideout of the criminals who enforce sit-at-home in some communites and claimed to be IPOB but are not.
“We are advising Dr Peter Mba to ask his predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who are responsible for the criminalities going on in Enugu State and other states. We listed some of the criminals in Enugu State and we will do such again to Dr Mba..
“The Nigeria Security Agents cannot stop the enforcers of sit-at-home because the government is the sponsor of those criminals. The agent provocateurs and their leader in Europe are behind these criminalities going on in the South-East with the support of the government just to blackmail IPOB. We are calling on Dr Mba never allow a single person die because of this exercise because we don’t know anything about it.
“Dr. Peter Mba must not invite anarchy by inviting Police and Army personnel who are behind the criminals enforcing the non-existent Monday sit-at-home. That will be disasterious. Monday sit-at-home order is slowly whining down. Calling on the Nigeria compromised Security Agents to stop it wouldn’t work. Instead, they will further agreviate the situation.
“Calling on the Nigeria murderous security agents to stop Monday sit-at- home is a call that will be used as a license to target and kill IPOB members and innocent Biafra citizens. Dr. Peter Mba should be careful not to be used by enemies to target and attack IPOB members and ESN operatives.
“IPOB is not part of the problem but part of the solution to the peace and security of our land. Enugu State Governor should encourage our people to go about their businesses on Mondays but never order murderous security to force people out. The Monday sit-at-home at home is already whining down and shouldn’t be used to allow any military or police to coerce our people.”
