The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it will confront enforcers of the non-existent sit-at-home order in the South East region.
The group stressed that no group has a monopoly of violence. It also alleged that some politicians were recruiting criminals and cultists to attack innocent citizens in the name of enforcing non-existent Mondays’ stay-at-home directive in the region, especially in Enugu State.
In a statement issued by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB warned that it would no longer tolerate the killings and attacks on Mondays in the region, the group warned those responsible for the violence should desist or be ready to face them.
The statement read in part: “Currently criminals are mobilising to attack innocent citizens in the name of enforcing a non-existent Monday sit-at-home order, which IPOB had suspended a long time ago.
“We are informing those enforcing the non-existent Monday sit-at-home order to desist or be ready to contend with IPOB under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who initiated Monday sit-at-home order but stopped it for obvious reasons.
“We have said it before that IPOB will release its security outfit to chase those enforcing the sit-at-home directive on Mondays. We can’t fold our hands and watch them unleash mayhem on innocent Biafra people on Mondays under the guise of enforcing a non-existent sit-at-home order. Enough is enough!”
He restated that those killing innocent people in the name of enforcing sit-at-home orders on Mondays were not IPOB members, insisting that IPOB could not be part of the destruction of the same people it has been striving to liberate.
“Enugu State is the capital and headquarters of Igbo land and needs to be peaceful and conducive for living. Enugu has been a peaceful home for all Ndigbo and strangers.
“The intention of the criminals behind the barbarity is to implicate the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and IPOB members, who are only agitating for the restoration of the Biafra nation. Their mission is to demonise Biafra agitators and truncate the agitation, but they came too late because the world is already aware that we are a non-violent movement,” the statement added.
It lamented that socio-economic activities have continued to be grounded on Mondays in the South East region since August last year following the sit-at-home order.
Although the IPOB had cancelled the exercise, which was called due to Kanu’s continued detention, other gun-wielding persons have continued in the guise to kill and attack residents found on the streets or doing businesses on Mondays.
The group, therefore, insisted that there were no longer sit-at-homes in Biafra land except on the days Kanu would appear in court and IPOB’s activities would be publicized on such days, adding: “Any other thing to the contrary has nothing to do with IPOB and should be disregarded.”
