•IPOB protests members’ arrest in Bayelsa

From Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki and Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), yesterday, threatened to shut down the country if the Federal Government arrested leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, again.
It said Kanu’s non-violent activities towards Biafra actualisation and restoration have never breached, truncated or confronted the fragile and inconsistent constitution of Nigeria.
In a statement signed by Uchenna Madu, MASSOB also lambasted the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzu, “who declared the intent of Buhari-led Government of their plan to re-arrest the Biafra leader.”
It accused Dambazzu, of defending “youths of Arewa that threatened the people of Biafra with an ultimatum of quit notice to vacate Arewa land before Oct 1st, 2017 that the coalition of the Arewa Youths were misquoted by the media.”
MASSOB warned that any attempt or plan to re arrest Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will be thoroughly and massively resisted. We can never tolerate it. It is an insult and embarrassment to our inalienable rights.
“Now that we know that our consistency and exposure of the hidden truths is dangerously frustrating, disorganising and killing the age-long Hausa/Fulani Islamic agenda against the people of Biafra, we shall never relent or surrender,” the statement added.
Kanu, who is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony was granted bail by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja on 12 conditions, one of them forbidding him to be in a crowd exceeding10 people.
However, Kanu described the conditions as laughable and said he would flout them because President Muhamadu Buhari had not been held to account first for flouting all the court orders to free him, free El-Zakzaky and others who still being detained by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Meanwhile, IPOB over the weekend staged a protest in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital over the arrest and detention of its members by the state Police command at the Akenfa Police station.
The group during the protest, which caused gridlock along the Mbiama/ Yenagoa road, said it had to stage the protest to demand for the release of its members.
Leader of the group, Denis Okeleke, said IPOB would not accept the arrest and detention of its members because of being in possession of IPOB emblems.
“The Police cannot arrest innocent citizen going about their legitimate business because of IPOB emblem. Anybody that has committed an offence should be charged to Court after 24 hours. The Police should charge them to Court or release them,” he said.
The spokesman said during the protest, the Police attempted to intimidate them and threatened to shoot, noting, however, that they would not relent until all their members arrested unlawfully were released.
The protesters later shifted base to the secretariat of the group along Imiringi road where they watched Biafra Television Broadcast.
A Police source who confirmed the arrest of IPOB members said the protest was unnecessary, as the leadership of the group had earlier been invited to bail its members.
He said Bayelsa State Police has made it clear that it would not allow IPOB disrupt the peace of the state with its activities.
Recently the Court in Bayelsa State discharged and acquitted 30 members of the group that were charged to the Court by the Police for unlawful gathering.
Two frontline Igbo group, MASSOB and the Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), said it would celebrate its first anniversary on September 13.
Leader of the group in Ebonyi South zone, Chief Sunday Ezaka, who disclosed this in Abakaliki said the event would be celebrated in Awka, Anambra State with numerous activities.
He said Biafra’s actualisation was near and urged agitators not to be intimidated by those he called enemies of progress.
Ezaka lauded founder of the MASSOB/BIM, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike for floating new Biafra Radio station in Germany, which he noted has come on air. He described Uwazuruike as the authentic Biafra leader.