Tobias Sylvester
IPOB says it will lockdown South-East for one month if Nnamdi Kanu is not brought to court on October 21.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has threatened to impose a one-month sit-at-home protest in the South-East if the Federal Government fails to produce its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to court for his next court hearing.
KanyiDaily had reported how Nnamdi Kanu’s trial was postponed till October after the DSS failed to produce him at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Binta Nyako adjourned the case till October 21, 2021, after the DSS blamed Kanu’s absence in court on what it termed as “logistical problems”.
Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony brought against him by the federal government over his campaign for the Republic of Biafra.
IPOB Threatens Lockdown Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial
In a statement on Wednesday by IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the group alleged that the Federal government has perfected plans not to bring Kanu to court on the scheduled date.
IPOB said that the alleged “wicked plan to perpetually keep Kanu behind bars without trial to see if they can demoralize him and Biafrans” won’t work.
The group said its “peaceful resolution” towards the trial of Kanu should not be misconstrued as weakness, stressing that there will be one-month lockdown in the South-East, if the federal government fails to bring Kanu to court.
“The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra has been drawn to the plot by Nigeria government and her DSS in Abuja not to produce our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to court on 21st October 2021, the date he is due to appear in court to start his case.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has again perfected plans not to bring him to court on that day. Their wicked plan is to perpetually keep him behind bars without trial to see if they can demoralise him and Biafrans but they are late.
“If the Federal Government refuses to bring him to court in his next court appearance on October 21, 2021, the entire Biafra land will be on total lockdown for one month.
“The Federal Government will know that they cannot take us for granted any more. Our peaceful disposition as a people should not be misconstrued as weakness.
“Nigeria cannot incarcerate our leader illegally and expect things to be normal again. If by October 21, Kanu is not brought to court, Nigeria will know that Kanu commands the unflinching loyalty of over 60 million Biafrans home and in Diaspora.
“By keeping our Leader out of circulation, his health will be in jeopardy and we won’t allow this. The Fulani-controlled Nigeria Government must tell us why it will choose to disobey court orders and expect citizens to watch like conquered slaves.
“They are busy granting amnesty to terrorists and bandits killing their soldiers and citizens but keeping peaceful agitators in perpetual detention.
“Their plan is to suppress agitation and force everyone into submission but Biafrans won’t succumb to their intimidation. We are a different people.
“Their plan is to silence agitations for freedom as championed by Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Ighoho so that the Fulani from across Africa will overrun Nigeria. They can’t conquer Biafra land as they have conquered Hausa and other indigenous tribes in Nigeria.”
What you should know about Nnamdi Kanu’s trial
KanyiDaily recalls that Kanu was arraigned on July 26, 2021, for the continuation of his trial on charges bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, and managing an unlawful society.
Other allegations leveled against him by the government were the publication of defamatory matter, illegal possession of firearms, and improper importation of goods, among others.
Nnamdi Kanu was initially detained and arraigned in Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, but he fled the country in 2017 after he was granted bail for medical reasons.
After four years since he jumped bail, the IPOB leader was arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria on July 27, in an operation conducted by Nigerian security operatives in collaboration with international partners, to face the charges for which he jumped.
