In the early hours of Tuesday, the factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Simon Ekpa issued a fresh order announcing a two-week sit-at-home lockdown in the whole of Southeastern states. This order is coming shortly after a closed-door meeting in Abuja with southeast political leaders and President Tinubu on resolving the security situation in the region. Also present in the meeting were Governors, National, and state assembly members, and other notable leaders of the meeting. “Following the demand by the Biafra people for more sit-at-home civil disobedience, the Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE) and Biafra De Facto Government In Homeland wish to notify Biafrans that there will be a sit-at-home civil disobedience starting from 31 July 2023 to 14 August 2023,” Ekpa said.
He said that the sit-at-home is to demand “the immediate and unconditional release of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who remains illegally detained at the DSS dungeon.” Ekpa stated that it is also in preparation for “Biafra’s self-referendum and to further put the world on notice that Biafrans are taking their future into their own hands.
According to him, it will be observed “to invalidate the illegitimacy of those who parade themselves as Nigeria’s representatives within the Biafran territory.“The sit-at-home will therefore take place in the following order: Monday, 31 July 2023 to Friday, 4 August 2023 and there will be total lockdown in Biafraland.”
He said that on Saturday, 6th August, and Sunday, 7th August, the two-week-long sit-at-home will go on break as all Biafran markets will be opened. “From Monday, 7th August to Friday, 11 August, there will be total lockdown in Biafraland while on Saturday, 12 August, and Sunday, 13 August 2023 there will be a break as all Biafran markets will open,” Ekpa said.
“On Monday, 14 August, there will be a lockdown in Biafraland. We hereby call on all market leaders to strictly adhere to this order and treat it with utmost seriousness. “We also call on all oil companies operating in the Biafran territory to shut down oil exploration on these dates to avoid the anger of the Biafran people, which may come with heavy consequences.”
Speaking with journalists, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu said all the leaders across political party lines have decided to work together for the good of the region.
According to the chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, the meeting x-rayed the prevailing security challenges in the region. “As the Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum (SEGF), I communicated measures being considered by the Governors in tackling the insecurity, one of which is the planned high-powered delegation to the President,” Uzodinma tweeted.
“While we acknowledge the efforts of the Federal Government in the past, we are optimistic that under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we will receive adequate interventions necessary to nip the menace in the bud.”
