We issued sit-at-home order, not street protest – IPOB

 The Indigenous People of Biafra said it issued a stay-at-home order  and not a street protest, thereby declaring successful last Friday’s protest by the group.

IPOB was reacting to the belief that the protest called by the organisation in the South-South and the South-East geopolitical zones to protest the continued detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, by the Federal Government was not successful.

IPOB Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Powerful, on Monday said the protest was successful in the entire South-East geopolitical zone as directed.

Powerful, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Owerri, the Imo State capital, said IPOB never planned to embark on any street or road protest to press home its demand for the immediate release of Kanu and other members of the group still being held by the police.

He said the group only gave a “sit-at-home order” for all residents in the South-East which was well observed across the zone.

He said, “At no time did the group say that they would take to the streets.

 “We only directed the people to shelve their various engagements for that day which was interestingly and beautifully complied with.

 “It was a sit-at-home and not a threat or a road protest and about 95 countries in the world participated in it. We are impressed.”

IPOB also said Biafra had come to stay with or without a referendum.

The group was reacting to a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari over the continued agitation for Biafra.

In a statement by Powerful, IPOB said it was unfortunate that the President was confused about the struggle for Biafra and had continued to deceive the general public about the whole thing, stressing that the statement credited to Buhari in the US proved that he was under pressure by the agitation for Biafra.

He said, “Meanwhile, IPOB wants to ask Mr. President, if the United Nations passes a resolution that a referendum should be conducted in Biafra land, will President Buhari go against it?”

He added, “In faraway US, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, made a speech in the United Nations that small nations should be granted autonomy and Palestine should be created out of Israel. But back home in Nigeria, he ordered the killings of unarmed civilians and members of IPOB who were using peaceful means to ask for their freedom.”