The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Sunday, reiterated its earlier position that there will be no sit-at-home this Monday, on Wednesday 19th, and Thursday 20th January 2022.
IPOB however stated that the only day there will be sit-at-home is on Tuesday,18th January 2022, the day its leader Nnamdi Kanu will appear in court in Abuja.
A statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, yesterday entitled, “No sit-at-home in Biafra land on Wednesday, January 19th and Thursday 20th, 2022.” said that anybody issuing an order for sit-at-home on 19th and 20th of January is not a member of IPOB.
The statement also said that such a person or such persons are working against the interest of its leader, Mazi Kanu, and the entire struggle for independence and should, therefore, be disregarded.
IPOB said that it cannot compound the suffering of Ndigbo and friends of Ndigbo by locking down South East for three days, saying that anybody enforcing sit-at-home, on Monday 17, Wednesday 19, and Thursday 20th January is a criminal and should be treated as such.
It will be recalled that IPOB last week told the southeast Governors and security agencies to wake up from their slumber and treat criminals and hoodlums still enforcing sit-at-home on Mondays or any day it did not approve as criminals that want to rob people.
However, contrary to the directive by IPOB that there will be no sit-at-home on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, residents of Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State were on Sunday making unusual movements out of Onitsha apparently for fear of being trapped in the town following the rumours that there will be sit-at-home for three days.
The trooping out of the town in droves by residents resulted in the highest traffic jam since this year in the commercial city as all the exit roads from Onitsha to other Anambra communities and even Asaba, the Delta State capital and Imo and Enugu States were all blocked.
When Vanguard moved around the town, there was no sign that the heavy traffic jam would ease within a short time as all the exit roads out of the town were tightly locked with volunteers working assiduously to ensure movement of vehicles which was stagnated because of the zeal for people to leave the town.
From Onitsha to Nkpor, Obosi, Awada, Onitsha-Owerri Road, Onitsha-Enugu road, Onitsha- Nsugbe road, Onitsha-Atani road, and Onitsha-Niger Bridge to Asaba, Delta State, all exits out of the commercial city, the roads were locked.
However, IPOB in its statement read: “We the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, under the command of our indefatigable leader, Nnamdi Kanu, wish to tell Biafrans and friends of Biafrans that there will be no sit-at-home on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th January 2022.
“We wish to state emphatically that sit-at-home will only be observed on Tuesday 18th January, the first day our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will appear in court in 2022. We have not ordered any sit-at-home after Tuesday 18th January. Anybody enforcing sit-at-home on Monday, 17th, Wednesday 19th, and Thursday 20th January is not a member of IPOB but a criminal and hoodlum working against the interest of our leader and out to rob people and therefore should be treated like a criminal.
“We want to emphasize that there will not be any sit-at-home on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th January 2022.
“In keeping with our avowed solidarity with our leader, the entire Biafra land will be on lockdown only on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, for obvious reasons.
“Biafrans should understand that 19th January is the judgment day in the suit by our Leader against the Federal Government which is pending before an Umuahia High Court. So, there will be no sit-at-home on that day.
“Again, we don’t want to compound the pains of our people, hence, we will limit the sit-at-home to only January 18. Biafrans and residents of Biafra are free to go about their businesses without molestations on 19th and 20th January.
“Anybody found enforcing a non-existent Monday sit-at-home on 17th, 19th and 20th is a criminal and must be treated as such. IPOB leadership has given an order and that order is what subsists.
“IPOB is not a village or social club where everybody will behave untowardly to people like cultists. It is on the table and to the knowledge of IPOB leadership how some principal officers were encouraging evil in IPOB without minding the repercussions and consequences.
“However, we want to make it categorically clear and known to them that it will come back to him or her that encouraged evil against his or her fellow human beings.
“Nobody is expected to obstruct or interfere with either human or vehicular movements in those days under any guise. Any detractor or agent of darkness caught obstructing people’s activities in Biafra land on January 19th and 20th in the name of enforcing sit-at-home will regret his or her actions, be warned.
“We realised that some unscrupulous elements and traitors are trying to create confusion about these days and dishing out false information and propaganda, trying to create confusion in Biafra land.
“Therefore, we want all Biafrans to go on to their normal business on these days19th and 20th January 2022 without fear.
“For the umpteenth time, IPOB is under one central command and control and doesn’t have parallel or factional leadership. The Directorate of State (DOS) under the command of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in charge of the global movement of IPOB.
“Anybody who is not loyal to its Directorate of States, DoS, is an impostor and should be disregarded. We expect our people everywhere to adhere to this directive and refuse to be misled by sacked members of IPOB in Europe and America.”
VANGUARD
