David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi and Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
First Republic Aviation Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amechi, has advised members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and other pro-Biafra groups against attending the burial ceremony of Nnamdi Kanu’s parents at Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.
The elder statesman stated this, yesterday, in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area asking pro-Biafra groups not to display flags or engage in a group march during the burial to avoid clashes with security.
“As a father to Nigerians, I want to tell the IPOB, MASSOB and every other pro-Biafra group to make sure that the funeral ceremony of Nnamdi Kanu’s parents, Eze Kanu and his wife, was not disrupted as a result of clash with security forces. Anybody who wants to attend the burial should do so as an individual and not as group. There shouldn’t be display of banners, placards or anything that would identify any group for peace to reign, “ Chief Amechi said.
He cautioned the Army, police and security agencies against deploying officials to Afaraukwu for the burial saying community members, the church and Kanu’s family should not be scared from the event.
Meanwhile, IPOB has warned the army and other security agencies not to provoke it’s members to resort to the use of arms in the course of the struggle for Biafra.
Spokesman for the group, Emma Powerful, in a press statement in Owerri, yesterday, said the insistence of the army and the police in laying siege to arrest it’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, may lead to an unpredictable situation that may affect the peace of the nation.
“We the global family of the Indigenous of People of Biafra wish to reiterate in clear and unambiguous terms that what the police and army are planning to do in Afaraukwu during the burial of Eze Israel Okwu Kanu and his wife on Friday February 14, will set-off a chain reaction that Nigeria will never recover from.
“Common arbitrary arrest of any mourner this week Friday is capable of inciting a disproportionate reaction from angry mourners. IPOB is warning all agents of Nigerian government in Biafraland, traitors and caliphate slaves alike, that what will befall CP Okon will also be their portion should shots be fired in Afaraukwu. The era of the army and police shooting innocent mourners in Biafraland has come to an end. What is happening in Umuahia with the provocative presence of the army and police is an insult to the people of Biafra and Igbo race.