Outlawed Igbo separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has accused the Nigerian military over claims that the ending of the Monday sit-at-home in the South-East region was as a result of its intervention.
Describing the claim by the military as laughable, the pro-Biafra group said security agencies had nothing to do with ending the sit-at-home as the directives came from its leader, Nnamdi Kanu who ordered that the orders must stop with immediate effect.
The Biafran agitators also accused the military of lying to Nigerians as operatives were “hiding” while unknown gunmen went about enforcing the sit-at-home on the orders of Simon Ekpa.
In a statement on Friday by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, entitled, ‘The public should ignore Nigeria Military claim of stopping Monday sit-at-home order in South East,’ IPOB said that while the sit-at-home lasted, the “military and the police were nowhere to be found to provide security even when residents continuously cried out for help” until Igbo leaders cried out and got the attention of Kanu who ordered Ekpa and his group to stop the orders.
“The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has been drawn to the laughable, disgraceful and a statement that does not hold waters, credited to the Nigeria government and its compromised security agencies, particularly the military that they stopped Monday sit-at-home order in the Southeast region,” the statement reads.
“We therefore, request the general public to ignore the military and other security agencies. The claims of the Nigeria military of being responsible for stopping the infamous sit-at-homes is laughable and criminal.
“As much as the sit-at-home was an IPOB brainchild and a powerful strategy of IPOB before the Nigeria government agents hijacked and abused it, its ending was as a result of proactive actions and strategy by IPOB and our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“IPoB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu printed fliers, posters, and banners informing our people that sit-at-home was over and had been over.
“It is on record that IPOB discontinued Monday’s weekly sit-at-home after its first successful observation and our peoples’ voluntary compliance before Nigerian government agents claiming to be working for IPOB hijacked it and used it to commit crimes.
“Where were the Nigerian military and police when the people of South East were molested, intimidated and killed by hoodlums enforcing IPoB cancelled Monday weekly sit-at-home?
“They were all hiding in their barracks on Mondays while the sit-at-home lasted until our leader’s instruction that it must be stopped forthwith in Igbo land.
“Where was Nigerian government that felt it’s continuation was a weapon to deal with the South East and should not be stopped? Both the immediate past and present Nigerian governments wanted it to continue because they believed it was against the Igbo economy and therefore should not stop and they actually did nothing to stop it.
“Why didn’t the government, the military and the police provide protection to people who dared to come out on the road and streets during the exercise?
“The Nigeria military must stop telling lies that they stopped sit-at-home, they never did. They were rather hiding in their barracks while it lasted. IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu stopped sit-at-home. Nigeria military had no capacity to stop the Monday sit-at-home in Biafraland,” the statement said.
