The Indigenous People of Biafra has ordered the arrest of Monday sit-at-home enforcers in the South-East.
The Media and Publicity Secretary of the secessionist group, Emma Power, gave the directive on Thursday in a statement made available to our correspondent in Awka, Anambra State.
He wondered why some people would continue to enforce an order that was long cancelled by IPOB.
He called on community and religious leaders in the region to devise ways to arrest such hoodlums and hand them over to IPOB authorities in the localities.
The group’s statement read in part, “We wish to reiterate once again that IPOB has cancelled Monday sit-at-home order and anybody or group enforcing the relaxed order is neither from IPOB nor from IPOB volunteer group.
“We are advising our people to ignore anybody enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home order and go about their normal business because such person(s) are working for our enemies and their intention is to blackmail IPOB and set the movement against the people but they won’t succeed.
“Anyone caught adding to the pain of our people in the name of enforcing Monday sit-at-home order will be treated as the enemy that he or she is.
“We, therefore, warn these agents of darkness using the name of IPOB to enforce a non-existent sit-at-home to desist because if we lay hold on them they will eternally regret their evil actions.
“Why should such unpatriotic elements be inflicting pain on our people and dragging our image to the mud? IPOB remains a non-violent movement and our peaceful approach for Biafra restoration has not changed.
“We hereby direct community leaders, market leaders, church leaders, and other institutions of authority in Biafra land to arrest any hoodlum trying to enforce any sit-at-home on Mondays and hand them over to IPOB. Such criminal elements must be treated in a language they understand.
Recalled that the IPOB leadership had ordered sit-at-home protest for Mondays so as to prevail on the Federal Government to release its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. The order was, however, cancelled after it was observed once on August 9.
The order is, however, still being observed by residents of the South-East, while those who flouted the directive were visited with consequences by purported IPOB enforcers.
IPOB in the statement on Thursday said, “Nobody has the powers to enforce the same suspended sit-at-home using the name of IPOB. Such a person is an impostor working for the killing squad of the Nigerian DSS and Nigerian security agencies and should be treated as such if apprehended.
“The only day sit-at-home will be observed in Biafraland is when our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is appearing in court, and we shall, as usual, make it public for all to know.” (Punch)
