| Muhammadu Buhari |
Following the release of 19 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who were detained in Aba Prisons, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (OYC) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, for the gesture.
It will be recalled that about twenty members of IPOB were reportedly arrested in Aba by soldiers of the 144 Battalion, Asa, Ukwa West Local Government of the state after they clashed with soldiers during a prayer session at National High School along Port Harcourt road.
The IPOB members; six females and thirteen males, were released by a Magistrate Court in Umuahia, the State capital on Thursday following the directive of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, that they be released.
In a statement signed by the chairman of states’ chairman, Mazi Alex Okemiri, the group also praised Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu for facilitating their activists’ release.
The statement reads in part: “We hereby salute Mr President, the Attorney General of the Federation and Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state for facilitating the release of the pro-Biafran activists arrested and detained during their prayer session at Aba some months ago.
“This commendable action will go a long way to douse the tension and bad blood generated by their detention. We equally urge Mr President to release other MASSOB and IPOB detainees including the leader of IPOB Nnamdi Kanu.
“This will pave the way for dialogue, which remains the only way to solve the agitation. We commend Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for the role he also played in the release. He has endeared himself to Ndigbo for pursuing the reduction of tension in the South East.”
The group also called on various groups in the South-east to stop creating unnecessary tension in Abia State.
“The warning is sequel to a media interview by one? Igwekala Leo Ugomaduefule, the National President of a group known as Ndigbo Bu- Otu, where he asked the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu to resign.
“Abia, a state in Igbo land should not be a testing ground for lawlessness. Nigeria is not a Banana Republic ?and the South-East should not be used for such experiment.
“We are amazed that a group suddenly emerged and started talking about the Abia stalemate. There are other issues affecting Ndigbo such as the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, need for restructuring and true federalism but this faceless group never talked about it.
“The OYC is warning this group to desist from stoking ember of confusion in Igbo land. We have already declared the self-styled members of the above group persona-non-grata and we expect the general public to treat them as such.”
The OYC further urged the feuding parties in the Abia governorship tussle to utilize all the legal windows open to them, stressing “any attempt to forcefully remove Governor Okezie Ikpeazu will be vehemently resisted by Ndigbo.
“Our advice to Uche Ogah is to toe that path of peace and stop allowing outsiders to use him in creating a situation of confusion in Igbo land. What we are experiencing right now cannot happen elsewhere and for that we say unequivocal no to it.”
Speaking in the same vein, the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Uchenna Madu described the release of the pro-Biafra members as laudable.
Madu said that the continued harassment and illegal detention of the MASSOB, BIM, IPOB and other pro-Biafra groups would not deter them from pushing for the emancipation of Biafra, which according to him, is a legacy bequeathed to them by the founding fathers and which must be actualized.
The MASSOB leader also used the opportunity to urge the Federal Government to release other Biafra agitators, including the leader of the IPOB and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, Benjamin Onwuka and other BIM leaders and members who are currently incarcerated in various prisons across the country.”