The governorship election in Anambra State on November 6 looks uncertain after the Indigenous People of of Biafra (IPOB), declared one week sit-at-home protest from 5 Nov. till 10 November.
The group said the protest would be relaxed on Sunday 7 November to allow people to go to church.
If past experience is anything to go by, the streets of Anambra will be desolate on election day, unless Kanu is released before or on November 4.
IPOB’s Media and Public Secretary , Emma Powerful announced the group decision in a statement on Saturday.
He said the action is being taken to protest the continuous incarceration of the leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been held by DSS since late June, after he was kidnapped in Nairobi, Kenya.
IPOB said: ”Following the adjournment of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s court case to 10th of November 2021, by the Federal High Court Abuja, we the great movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that IPOB will lock down Biafraland from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10 except Sunday, Nov.7, a day our people worship the Almighty God if the Nigeria Government fails to release our leader unconditionally before Nov. 4 2021.
“Our leader must be released unconditionally on or before Nov. 4, because he has not committed any offence known to any law.
“Failure to release our leader on or before Nov. 4, 2021, our one week Sit-At-Home begins on Nov. 5, 2021 till Nov. 10.
“Although we quite understand the pains and adverse effects of this option on our people, we are compelled to take it to achieve a better purpose in the collective interest of Biafrans.
“We have taken time to analyse what transpired on Oct. 21 when our Leader was arraigned in court and discovered that the federal government is not sincere and only wants to humiliate him and keep him perpetually in DSS custody to rot there.
“We all saw how lawyers, journalists, Igbo delegates and respected traditional rulers and other people who came from all around the world to witness his court case were restricted and denied access into the court premises by security agents who kept them outside under the scorching heat of the sun. What a humiliation and wickedness!
“We cannot accept that anymore. We can never allow our leader Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to be tried Secretly and we can never also allow him to be tried under Sharia law under any guise. Nigeria must follow International laws in handling our leader.
“Unless the federal government releases him unconditionally before November 4, we shall sacrifice one week for him as a warning protest to convey to our oppressors that Nnamdi Kanu represents over 70 million Biafrans.
“He is innocent of all the charges preferred against him. As long as he is in detention our individual businesses do not matter so much because he is suffering for us all and we can’t abandon him.
“We seriously regret the inconveniences this may cause our people but it’s a necessary sacrifice we need to make until we have our full independence. Nobody resident in Biafra land is expected to flout this directive as doing so amounts to challenging the will of the people on the Biafra project,” he said.
President Buhari and his security team appeared to have anticipated the action by IPOB as the issue came up at their meeting on Thursday.
The National Security Adviser Maj. General Babagana Monguno said Buhari has ordered that Anambra be overwhelmed by security men to ensure the election successfully holds.
However, since the IPOB has been declaring sit-at-home protests, compliance level has been very high as IPOB appears to be the real political power in the south east region.
Little may change on 5 November when the protest begins.
