The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have come out to dismiss an audio message making rounds on social media, urging residents of the southeast to observe a one-week sit-at-home starting from July 3 to 10.
The sit-at-home directive, purported to have come from the IPOB, with the hashtag #FreeNnamdiKanu, is directed at forcing the Federal Government to free Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently in DSS custody.
The audio message had asserted that there will be grave consequences for anyone daring to set out on the aforementioned dates.
Emma Powerful, the media and publicity secretary of IPOB had rejected the audio message, stating that they were not from his group.
In his words:
“I will issue a press release against it in two to three days to the date declared in the audio, but for the meantime, i will not give any more attention to it.”
IPOB had first announced the Monday of every week, a sit-at-home day in the South East, as a way to coerce the Federal Government to release its leader Kanu, but it was later cancelled after it was realised that it was taking a toll on the economy of the region.
It is noteworthy to mention that since its cancellation, several hoodlums have kept on enforcing it, making a lot of residents to compulsorily stay at home every Monday, despite the assurances of IPOB.
It is glaringly obvious that the Federal Government of Nigeria is not paying attention to the gimmicks of the IPOB. The government could have easily released Kanu if indeed the sit-at-home directives had been alarming to them but it has chosen to ignore the protests of the ‘marginalised group’.