Members of Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB), a Pro-Biafra group
from the southeast and south-
south states of the country, last
weekend gathered in Aba, Abia
State, to honour fallen heroes of
their group who died during the
Nigerian-Biafran war.
Numbering over 10, 000, and as
early as 9am, the group gathered
in front of Christ the King Catholic
Cathedral church from where they
took off in groups and marched
through the streets of the
commercial city, which lasted for
over eight hours and cutting
acrossOgbor Hill, Aba-Owerri
road, Tonimas-Umule axis,
Ariaria, Port Harcourt road
through Flyover Bus Stop, among
others.
Traffic was disrupted throughout
their rally, even as the state
governor’s entourage had to take
extra minutes detours to make it
through Ogbor hill to his
Umuobiakwa country home, while
commuters, motorists and
residents of Aba, trooped out in
their numbers to have a glimpse
of what was happening.
Several police patrol had followed
the procession around, while their
patrol vans were also seen at
various strategic junctions where
the Armoured Personnel Carrier
was stationed at Ehi road by CKC,
apparently to ensure that the
peaceful protest didn’t turn
violent.
Speaking, some members of the
group said that the movement in
Aba was to honour some of the
fallen heroes of Biafran, who died
during the Nigerian-Biafran Civil
war, adding that it was also part
of their efforts to further push for
their agitation for the realiasation
of the sovereign state of Biafra.
According to one Kalu Francis, “It
is more than 100years after Lord
Lugard amalgamated the people
of Southern and Northern
Protectorates. According to the
treaty, it was agreed that after
100years, anyone that felt that
they are no longer comfortable
with the way things are being
done, has the right to secede and
that is what we are doing.
“We are the Indigenous People of
Biafra and we believe that the
time has come for us to let the
world know how badly we have
been treated as a people. Even
when we lay the eggs that feeds
the nation, we are still not
benefiting from the eggs we lay.
“What we are saying is that we
want to be free and until we
realise the dreams and aspirations
of our founding fathers, we shall
continue to push the struggle and
push our case to its logical
conclusion.
“People think that we are going to
be troublesome, but we chose the
path of peace and honour as a
non-violent group to pass our
message to the international
community that we are no longer
comfortable. What we want is a
sovereign state of Biafra and
nothing else.”
However, residents of Aba have
commended the police operatives
for exhibiting maturity in the way
they handled the protesters,
stating that it was a paradigm
shift from what was obtainable in
the past.
They added that if the template
set out on Sunday by the police
could be sustained, “they will be
achieving the saying ‘police is
your friend’ and not the enemy of
the public.”
http://dailytimes.com.ng/seast-ssouth-pro-biafra-groups-rally-to-honour-fallen-heroes/