MASSOB members were said to have been holding a rally to mobilise support for the June 8 sit-at-home order, which the organisation issued to the Igbos.
The sit-at-home order, according to
MASSOB, was to mark the killing of six Igbos by the police at Apo village,
Abuja and those found dumped at Ezu River, Amansea in Awka North Local
Government Area of Anambra State and those killed by Boko Haram, a dreaded
Islamist sect.
Reacting to the incident, the MASSOB
Deputy Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, accused security operatives,
especially the police, of killing MASSOB members fighting for the actualisation
of a sovereign state of Biafra.
According to him, the police also took
away MASSOB laptop computer, some amount of money and arrested some of their members.
He said those arrested and taken away
by the police include Jude Ochi, Nnamdi Ezeaka, Nelson Ugboh, Ifeanyi Eboh.
In his own reaction, Prince Ohaegbulem
Jude of the Lagos State branch of MASSOB regretted that Igbos had been
marginalised, intimidated and made to be second class citizens in Nigeria.
He vowed that the proposed sit-at-home
scheduled for June 8 would definitely hold despite the intimidations from
security operatives.
When contacted on the incident, the
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Anambra State, Mr. Emeka
Chukwuemeka, confirmed the incident but, however, said he did not receive any
information about those who sustained injury.
Chukwuemeka said the operation was led
by DPOs, adding that what happened at Nnobi and Awka-Etiti were minor
skirmishes.
The PPRO warned that the police would
not tolerate illegal activities from any person or group of persons who would
want to disturb public peace in the state.
In a related development, more than 200
members of the Association of Igbo Youths (AIYO) yesterday marched to the
Anambra State House of Assembly to protest the June 8 sit-at-home order issued
to the Igbo race by MASSOB.
The angry youths who came in several
buses arrived the gate of the House of Assembly by 12noon, carrying placards
and demanded to see the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chinwe Nwebili, who
at the time was holding an executive session in the Assembly Chamber.
Some of the placards, which the
protesters carried read: "No more violence," No closure of markets,"
"It is against our interest," "No gang up against
government."
The youths were received at gate of the
Assembly by Dr. Emeka Aniebonam and some legislators on behalf of the Speaker.
Addressing the assembly members, the
Anambra State Chairman of AIYO, Annie Onyeakpe, said they were at the assembly
to complain against the illegal order issued to the Igbo to stay at home on
June 8.
He said, "our stand is that we do
not support June 8 sit-at-home issued by MASSOB.
"The traders are not happy about
the order and the Igbos are generally traders who may be disturbed if they are
compelled to sit at home for the day."
Onyeakpe said MASSOB had no authority
to order the Igbo race to stay at home when they had five state governments and
their governors who could issue such order when the need arose.
He contended that the issues for which
MASSOB based its order were issues that could better be handled by the state
governors.
He, therefore, appealed to the members
of the House of Assembly to do everything possible to ensure that the Igbos
were not disturbed from carrying out their legitimate businesses on June 8.
Responding, Aniebonam thanked members
of AIYO for their peaceful conduct in lodging their complaints to the assembly.
He said nobody had right to issue any
order on the people other than the government and promised to table their
complaint to the Governor, Mr. Peter Obi.
Meanwhile, MASSOB, Abia State chapter,
says it has uncovered plans by Abia State Government to use security agents and
touts to cause mayhem in Umuahia and Aba to frustrate the planned June 8
sit-at-home order issued by the movement over the Apo 6 killing by security
agents in 2005.
The movement warned all those involved
in the plot to desist from the act or face the wrath of God, calling on the
populace to remain indoors during the period to avoid security logjam.
Speaking to Daily Sun in Umuahia, the
Information Director of the Movement in Umuahia North Local Government Area of
Abia State, Mr. Ansalem Ogbonna, warned Igbo politicians who felt they could
use their positions to frustrate the sit-at- home order to desist from doing so
as they were using it to sabotage the Igbo agenda.
He alleged that the plan of Abia State
Government was to cause violence and heap the blame on MASSOB so as to hound
them into cells or kill them.
"The exercise is slated on the
principle of non-violence and anybody that brings chaos into Igboland because
of the sit-at-home exercise will never be pardoned by the God of Ndigbo."
He called on all Igbos to remain
indoors on June 6 and pray to God for the repose of the spirit of those Igbos
killed extra-judicially.
He further called on the international
community to place surveillance on Abia security forces between June 6 and 8 to
ascertain that they would not cause any problem.
"This is no political or religious
matter but a point to prove to the world the grievance of the Igbos over the
extra-judicial killing, annihilation and heinous massacre of Ndigbo since
1945."
He said the leader of the movement,
Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, had warned traditional rulers to advice their subjects
never to allow themselves to be used by anybody.
Contributing, the Umuahia North
Regional Administrator, Mr. Ezekwem, said people should not attend any ceremony
on that day.
Traders better sit at home btw June 6 to 8, understand that is their only means of earning but their lives is more precious. it seems the MASSOB are bitter, angry and full of rage.
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