The President of Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has vehemently denied any involvement of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in the recent killing of soldiers in parts of the South-East. Iwuanyanwu described the incident as saddening and urged President Bola Tinubu to utilize his political power to secure Kanu’s release.
Speaking after visiting Kanu in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday, Iwuanyanwu emphasized that Kanu was not behind the order for the sit-at-home, which was declared by IPOB to honor “our heroes and heroines” who died in the civil war between 1967 and 1970. The sit-at-home paralyzed commercial and economic activities in parts of Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi States, with banks, schools, markets, motor parks, fuel stations, and other public places shut on Thursday.
Iwuanyanwu also called for the restructuring of the country, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and equitable society. His appeal comes amidst heightened tensions in the South-East, where IPOB’s agitation for a separate Biafran state has led to repeated clashes with security forces.
It is worth noting that IPOB and Ohaneze has consistently denied responsibility for the violence in the region, despite Nigerian officials often blaming the group for attacks. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, is currently in government custody and faces trial for treason after being detained overseas and brought back to Nigeria.
The issue of separatism is a sensitive one in Nigeria, where a declaration of an independent Biafra Republic by Igbo army officers in the southeast in 1967 triggered a three-year civil war that left over a million dead.
The current violence in the southeast is just one of the many security challenges facing the country, with the military also battling a 14-year-old jihadist insurgency in the northeast, gangs who kidnap and kill in the northwest and central states, and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
