In Aba, it was a total lock down as all the markets and shops remained closed as the protesters marched through the major streets of the commercial city, carrying the Biafran flags and portraits of the detained pro-Biafran activist, Nnamdi Kanu. Security agencies followed the protesters behind and monitored the event to ensure that it was not hijacked by hoodlums to unleash violence in the city.
No violent incident was reported as the protesters expressed their grievances peacefully. They sang Biafran liberation songs, some of which evokes nostalgic feelings of the country that existed for over three years.
The lock down of Aba was in defiance to the state government’s warning that the protesters should not disrupt movement of people or prevent them from engaging in their business activities.
The warning, which was contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Bonnie Iwuoha, was repeatedly announced on state radio more than 24 hours to the commencement to the protest march.
In the statement he had warned that “the disturbance of public peace and free movement of people would not be tolerated” by government and even blamed opposition politicians for “engineering crisis in the state.”
The commissioner also urged parents to warn their children and wards to avoid encountering “regrettable consequences” by engaging in acts capable of disturbing public peace.
However all these threats came to naught as the pro-Biafra groups ensured that Aba was shut down once again yesterday as they insisted on the release of Kanu, who has been in detention for over two months. It was gathered that the pro-Biafra groups had been sending messages to Aba residents since last Sunday informing them that there would be no business yesterday.
In Onitsha, no fewer than 15,000 members and supporters of IPOB shut down the commercial city and its environs in Anambra State, protesting the continued incarceration of Kanu.
The protest which was actually in solidarity with Kanu, spread to adjoining towns like Obosi and Nkpor, thus making vehicular movements very difficult as members of the IPOB and their sympathisers marched from the Niger Bridge Head to the former Ogbunike Toll Gate in the outskirts. This lasted for over seven hours before normalcy was restored on the River Niger Bridge head, easing vehicular movement temporarily when the crowd of supporters left the area.
The members of IPOB were non-violent in their protest and soldiers from the army regiment in Onitsha who tried to disperse them, later soft pedaled because they were so many and might have reasoned that dispersing them could create untoward resistance they might not contain.
The soldiers simply implored them to maintain their civility and ensure that other road users were not molested.
Even the Onitsha-Owerri Road was not spared as the intimidating crowd swarmed all over the road forcing markets on the road as well as the Bridge Head Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers, Ochanja Market, New Auto Spare Parts Market, Building Material Market in Ogidi and other sundry markets to be affected by the protest march.
The IPOB spokesman, Comrade Emma Powerful said in Onitsha: “We decided to avoid coming close to markets, especially Onitsha Main Market, because of the false allegation by some leaders of the traders who have been paid to destroy our image, with allegations of looting and destroying the traders’ goods.
“We are not protesting against our brothers and sisters who are doing their genuine business of trading and other businesses, so there is no reason to attack anybody, or invade their shops, neither are we begging anybody to come and join in the protest, people whose lives and businesses have been destroyed by government policies join us without invitation, while others join in solidarity as Igbos, and allegation of infiltration into our fold is also false, baseless and figments of the imagination of those making it. We are only protesting to secure the release of our leader,” he said
National Coordinator of IPOB, Mr. Chidiebere Onwudiwe, said they were protesting because of the continued detention of Kanu and the marginalisation of South-east geographical zone generally in infrastructural development. The protest he said, would Kanu continue today.
Tags
Society