The Indigenous People of Biafra have backed Dr. Peter Mba, the governor of Enugu State, in his pledge to put an end to the state's weekly Monday sit-at-home protests. They added that they are backing him because IPOB had already put an end to the protests.
However, the pro-Biafran group advised the governor against using force against the populace, claiming that the police are aware of the criminals who are imposing the "non-existent sit-at-home."
These points were made by IPOB in a statement released on Monday by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, who also reminded Mba that the group had already terminated the exercise before some criminal elements took control of it.
“After our leadership initiated the Monday sit-at-home order to demand for the release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leadership has long directed stoppage of the exercise to avoid criminals capitalising on that to harm our people, " the group claimed.
“Though some Biafrans continued with Monday sit-at-home voluntarily, as our leader predicted, after the suspension order, some criminals and infiltrators hijacked it and started committing crimes and enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home.
“The Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mba should be made aware that IPOB has already suspended Monday sit-at-home. For him to publicly associate IPOB with Monday sit-at-home is obnoxious. If Mba wants to return normalcy on Mondays, he has the support of IPOB because those enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home are criminals.
“Anybody enforcing non-existent Monday sit-at-home order is not helping IPOB and our leader Mazi Kanu. Every member of IPOB and Biafrans should be coming out on Mondays for their business.â€
However, the organization highlighted that even if the exercise is progressively coming to an end throughout the South-East, Mba should refrain from using force to repress the populace because doing so would lead to anarchy.
It said that "their leader in Europe are behind these criminalities going on in the South-East with the support of the Federal Government just to blackmail IPOB" and claimed that security agents can stop sit-at-home enforcers and their sponsor since they are aware of themselves.
“The governor must know that the Nigeria Police know the criminals and the hideout of the criminals who enforce sit-at-home in some communites but are claiming to be IPOB but they are not.
“We are calling on Mba never allow a single person die because of this exercise because we don’t know anything about it.
“Calling on the Nigeria murderous security agents to stop Monday sit-at- home is a call that will be used as a license to target and kill IPOB members and innocent Biafra citizens. So, Mba should be careful not to be used by enemies to target and attack IPOB members and ESN operatives.
“Mba should never make the same mistake, Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo made by using the Nigeria compromised security to stop Monday sit-at-home . Any attempt to use murderous Fulani controlled security to stop the sit-at-home is an indirect way of killing our people.
“Such moves will always becounterproductive. Such measures failed in Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra, and it will fail in Enugu if it is applied. We support him to stop the Monday sit-at-home, as we have stopped the sit-at-home. Allow the Monday sit-at-home to die off naturally by engaging our people,†the group added.