Southeast Coalition Advises IPOB To Shun Proposed Protest On Monday

The Southeast Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, weekend, called on the Indigenous People of Biafra to shelve its planned protest scheduled for Monday.

Recall that IPOB said it would embark on the protest in the old Eastern region to press home its demand for the unconditional release of its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Kanu faces charges bordering on terrorism, treason and running a proscribed body—IPOB.

The president of the southeast coalition, Dr Livinus Onwuteaka, in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER, said the move would be counterproductive.

A part of the statement read, “It is difficult for the people of the Southeast, nay Nigeria, to process the essence of the directive. They are not the ones who arrested Nnamdi Kanu, nor is he in their custody. Why should they be punished?

“There are millions of people in the Southeast, as in other parts of the country, who barely eke out an existence. They include painters, bricklayers, electricians, bus conductors, commercial drivers, palm wine tappers and market women who deal in akara, fried yam, potato and plantain, to say nothing about millions of young men and women who are unemployed or underemployed.

“To ask this category of people, who are still smarting from the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, to stay indoors for a whole day every week is inconsiderate.

“Even Nigerians with fairly well-paying jobs are managing to live. The national economy is rough. Inflation, for one, is at an all-time high. These are really times which try men’s souls.

“The purported directive will end up stifling businesses in the Southeast which already has more than its fair share of national problems. It will make the Southeast less competitive, forcing existing businesses here to leave.”

The coalition therefore called on the people of the region to ignore the sit-at-home directive while urging security agencies to ensure security of lives and property of populace.