DSS accuses Biafra activists of killing burying 55 unidentified persons

The Department of State Services has taken over Umuanyi Forest near Aba in Abia State, where it said unidentified 55 shallow graves were discovered recently.

 

Biafran Protest over Kanu

Not less than 55 identified persons were said to have been allegedly buried in the graves by members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra.

The DSS on Saturday accused the members IPOB of engaging in kidnapping and extrajudicial killings.

IPOB is being led by the Director of guerilla Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is being prosecuted by the Federal Government for alleged treasonable felony.

The secret service further accused IPOB members of the kidnapping and killing of five Hausa-Fulani men whose remains it said were buried in the same forest.

But the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, another pro-Biafra group which rose in defence of IPOB, dismissed the allegations by the DSS as lacking merit and evidence.

A statement issued by DSS spokesperson, Mr. Tony Opuiyo, in Abuja on Saturday read, “Service has uncovered the heinous role played by members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra in the abduction/kidnap of five Hausa-Fulani residents, namely Mohammed Gainako, Ibrahim Mohammed, Idris Yakubu, and Isa Mohammed Rago at Isuikwuato LGA in Abia State.

“The abducted men were later discovered at the Umuanyi Forest, Abia State, where they were suspected to have been killed by their abductors and buried in shallow graves, amidst 50 other shallow graves of unidentified persons.

“Arrests and investigation conducted so far revealed that elements within the IPOB carried out this dastardly action.”

With this action, Opuiyo said it was pertinent to alert the general public that IPOB was gradually showing its true divisive colour and objectives, while steadily embarking on gruesome actions in a bid to ignite ethnic terrorism and mistrust amongst non-indigenes in the South-East region and other parts of the country.

Following this act, the DSS alerted that tension was currently rife among communal stakeholders in the state, with possibilities of spillover to other parts of country.

The agency warned that it would not hesitate to act decisively within its statutory mandate to ensure that the sponsors and perpetrators of “this action are apprehended and prosecuted for their crime.”

Efforts made by SUNDAY PUNCH to get IPOB to react to the allegation by DSS proved abortive, as the telephone line of the Director of Information of the group, Emma Powerful, which indicated that it was busy as of 8pm, indicated that it was switched off by 8:08pm.

When his alternative line was also called, it was switched off too.

However, the new leader of MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, in his response via a text message to one of our correspondents, stated that MASSOB and IPOB would remain undeterred on their agitation.

He said, “DSS allegation against pro-Biafra agitators lacks merit and evidence because MASSOB and IPOB are non- violent organisations. This is the highest frustration exhibited by Nigerian security agents against pro-Biafra agitators; they want to blackmail us as violent or terrorist group in order to get evidence against Nnamdi Kanu.

“MASSOB and IPOB can never be deterred or get jittery because of frivolous and baseless allegations by frustrated DSS. Why have they not raised eyebrow on several killings and destruction of properties by Fulani herdsmen?

“We advise Igbo governors to immediately summon a meeting of stakeholders on the menace of Fulani fundamentalists.”

A senior operative of the service, who was involved in the operation that led to the discovery of the graves and the forest, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday evening that the forest had become a no-go area for unauthorised people.

The security agent said, “The forest has become a security zone. We have taken over the place. It is an offence to see people who have no business in the area for now.”

The source said the operation was carefully planned and executed by the security outfit.

“A Good Samaritan blew the lid on the killings that happened there and how people were hurriedly buried in the forest,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added.

On how the identity of those buried in the graves would be known, the agent said the service might conduct an autopsy or find alternative ways to identify the corpses.

“I’m sure we would find a way of doing that (identification of corpses). If it requires that (autopsy) may be we would do it,” the operative said.

The source however refused to give the number of arrests that had been made, saying operation and investigation were ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Abia State Government on Saturday denied knowledge of shallow graves in any forest in the state.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State Governor, Mr. Godwin Adindu, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the government would investigate the alleged discovery.

He said, “We don’t have such a report; there is no such report here. The DSS has not given us the report. We don’t have such information. Even within the populace here, nobody has raised such alarm.”

 

 

DSS accuses Biafra activists of killing burying 55 unidentified persons

We visit Kanu in prison - UK govt

The United Kingdom says it has been visiting the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi kanu, in prison.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

A spokesman for the British High Commission, Mr. Joe Abuku, said this in an email sent to our correspondent on Friday.

Abuku said this in response to an email regarding Kanu’s letter to the High Commission.

The statement read, “We have provided assistance to Mr. Kanu since his arrest in October last year, including visiting him regularly in prison and attending court appearances in an observation capacity.”

The detained Biafran agitator, who is also a British citizen, had written a letter through his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, that the British government should not abandon him.

He had said, “It is repeating the obvious to state that our client is a full British citizen, by virtue of which position he is entitled to all rights, privileges and protection, guaranteed under the British laws and conventions.”

He also argued that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had violently abused his fundamental human rights through his prolonged detention in prison custody, adding that there was no way he would get a fair hearing.

We visit Kanu in prison - UK govt

‘Biafra, Buhari and the Easter Day Rising (1), By Femi Fani-Kayode’

If the quest for independence is good enough for the people of Sahrawi Arab Republic, then surely it is good enough for the people of Biafra or any other ethnic nationality in Nigeria, if that is what they really want.

“The power of a bold idea uttered publicly in defiance of dominant opinion cannot be easily measured. Those special people who speak out in such a way as to shake up not only the self-assurance of their enemies, but the complacency of their friends, are precious catalysts for change.” ― Howard Zinn.

Femi Fani-Kayode

This is one of the most profound assertions that I have ever heard. We must all learn from it regardless of the challenges that we may be facing in our country today.

In a special message to the Congress on the Internal Security of the United States on August 8, 1950, President Harry S. Truman said,

“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.”

Permit me to begin this essay with an aside. I do not intend to incite anyone against the government or the Nigerian state by making this contribution and neither do I believe in an armed struggle.

If there was ever an elephant in the Nigerian room then it is Biafra. Given that, let us explore it together in this two-part discourse and let us bare our minds.

The Buhari administration cannot tolerate or brook any form of dissent and neither are they comfortable with criticism or free speech.

They are desperately trying to establish a culture of silence in our country. They are particularly uncomfortable with the subject matter of this essay.

Their double standards are made all the more manifest by the fact that they have acknowledged and recognised the right of self-determination for the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in their quest for independence from the Kingdom of Morocco whilst at the same time they have denied those that believe in the establishment of Biafra and the exercise of that very same right of self-determination here in Nigeria.

As if that were not bad enough, they went even further by describing Biafra as a matter that is “dead and buried” which must not be discussed under ANY circumstances.

The Buhari administration appears to have forgotten the fact that charity begins at home. You cannot give those from outside your shores what you are not prepared to offer your own people.

If the quest for independence is good enough for the people of Sahrawi Arab Republic, then surely it is good enough for the people of Biafra or any other ethnic nationality in Nigeria, if that is what they really want.

The matter is simple and clear: as long as the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria feel marginalised, persecuted, cheated, vilified and wronged, the spirit of Biafra will continue to flourish.

The suggestion that we should not even mention let alone discuss the idea of Biafra is simply absurd. Those that subscribe to that view often argue that three million people were killed in order to ensure that Nigeria was kept together and consequently there can be no going back.

This is a specious, self-serving and intellectually lazy argument. And this is especially so given the fact that those that have put it overlook the fact that the root causes of the civil war appear to be back with us today.

If you don’t cure the ailment and get rid of its root cause then you cannot complain about the consequences of its continued existence or its symptoms. If you don’t clean up the mess you cannot complain about its stench. Air freshener alone cannot do it: forgive my crudity but if you don’t flush the toilet after using it a terrible smell is bound to linger.

The matter is simple and clear: as long as the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria feel marginalised, persecuted, cheated, vilified and wronged, the spirit of Biafra will continue to flourish.

As long as Igbos are targeted and slaughtered like flies at the drop of the hat in the Northern part of our country, or indeed in any other part, Biafra will continue to thrive and burn in the hearts of every Igbo man, woman, and child. Whether we like it or not that is a reality and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Quite apart from that I deeply resent the fact that our government has got the nerve and has cultivated the temerity to venture to tell us what we should and what we should not mention or discuss. Surely even the madness of tyranny has its limits.

Those that are at the helm of affairs in our country today may have the power to kill, torture, detain indefinitely or jail those that do not share their views but they do not have the power to kill an idea. And an idea whose time has come cannot be wished away or stopped by any force from hell or on earth.

In this essay, we shall defy the government, ignore the critics, shed the fear and share some inconvenient truths.

100 years ago, on what is known as the Easter Rising Day, the Republic of Ireland began their struggle for independence from Great Britain when a handful of brave men went to the centre of Dublin, raised the new Irish flag and openly declared the establishment of the Irish Republic.

The rebellion was crushed but it signaled the beginning of a prolonged armed struggle.

It is my belief that by God’s grace those that are being oppressed, butchered and murdered by the Nigerian state today in an attempt to forcefully keep our country one and those that wish to break off to form their own country on the basis of the principle of self-determination shall also eventually prevail.

During the course of that struggle approximately thousands of Irish men, women and children were killed by the British occupation forces over the years but eventually the Republic of Ireland won their freedom and became an independent sovereign state.

A few days ago on Easter day, the Irish Government and people celebrated the 100th anniversary of Easter Rising Day with great pride, joy, pomp, and style. The celebrations were attended by delegations from the Basque separatist movement and officials of the Catalan regional government of Spain.

Both of these courageous political movements have been attempting to exercise their right of self-determination, break off from Spain and establish their own independent nations for many years and as each year passes they are getting closer to achieving their objective.

Those that believe in the right of self-determination of the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and particularly those that are fighting for the creation of the sovereign state of Biafra have so much to learn from the history and struggles of the people of Ireland.

The Irish suffered immeasurably under British occupation for hundreds of years and literally millions of them were enslaved and killed over that period of time.

Yet in the end, they managed to break the yoke and secure their liberation and triumph over the cruel subjugation and tyranny of British rule.

It is my belief that by God’s grace those that are being oppressed, butchered and murdered by the Nigerian state today in an attempt to forcefully keep our country one and those that wish to break off to form their own country on the basis of the principle of self-determination shall also eventually prevail.

This is particularly so for the Igbo people of the South-Eastern region of our country who have suffered more than any other ethnic group in Nigeria. Permit me to remind those that doubt this assertion that it was the Igbos that were slaughtered in their hundreds of thousands in the core North during the pogroms of 1966.

Igbo men, women, and children were butchered on sight all over the North simply because they were Igbo and for no other reason. Even pregnant women were not spared. This led directly to our civil war in which no less than three million Igbos were killed, including one million Igbo children who were starved to death.

After the war, they were deprived of all their properties outside Igbo land except for in Lagos and the South-West where they were treated with some level of decency and allowed to have their properties back.

Without Obasanjo’s premeditated and conscious policy of wanting to rehabilitate the Igbo and bring them back into the mainstream, none of these people would have achieved the great success that they have achieved today and none would have been brought into the national limelight.

Everywhere else in the country they could not reclaim the properties that they owned before the war and such properties were declared “abandoned property”, confiscated by the various regional and state governments and handed over to the local indigenous people.

As if that were not bad enough, after the civil war every Igbo man and woman, no matter how much they had in the bank before the war, was given only twenty pounds from their respective banks to begin a new life. Millions of pounds and many fortunes were lost in this way and the truth is that the Igbo suffered immeasurably as a consequence of this unjust policy.

It is a testimony to their resilience and nothing else that they were able to get back on their feet and within a period of ten years after the civil war, an Igbo man was elected Vice President of our country. They also thrived in the private sector due to their diligence and hard work.

Yet in spite of that, the systemic persecution and marginalisation of the Igbo people did not stop within the federal government, the public sector, the civil service, the security and intelligence agencies and the Armed Forces.

They were prevented from reaching the top in virtually all these sectors right up until President Olusegun Obasanjo was elected in 1999.

It was President Olusegun Obasanjo that began the effective post-war rehabilitation of the Igbo in the public sector when he started to appoint them into sensitive and strategic positions within his government and within the security agencies and Armed Forces.

A good example of that is Lt.-General Chidabikia Isaac Obiokor, who was the first Igbo man to he appointed as GOC in the Nigerian Army since the civil war. Another is Mr. Ogbonna Okechukwu Onovo who was the first Igbo man to be appointed Deputy Inspector General of Police since the civil war and who was later appointed Inspector General of Police two years after Obasanjo left office.

Then came the Ojo Maduekwes, the Andy Ubas, the Ngozie Okonjo-Iwealas, the Charles Soludos, the Emeka Chikelus, the Frank Nwekes, the George Obiozors and so many other bright and promising stars from the East who all wielded far more influence and power than their political offices had to offer in President Obasanjo’s government and who were all his protégées and appointees.

Without Obasanjo’s premeditated and conscious policy of wanting to rehabilitate the Igbo and bring them back into the mainstream, none of these people would have achieved the great success that they have achieved today and none would have been brought into the national limelight.

Yet, despite Obasanjo’s efforts the truth is that, between 1970 when the war ended right up until today, whenever there are attacks against people in the Northern part of Nigeria, the Igbo are singled out for more slaughter, more ethnic cleansing, and more mass murder than anyone else. (TO BE CONTINUED).

‘Biafra, Buhari and the Easter Day Rising (1), By Femi Fani-Kayode’

Biafra: Army investigates extrajudicial killings in Aba

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, says the army has commenced investigations into the alleged extrajudicial killings of unarmed pro-Biafran protesters in Aba, Abia State.

Biafran fear dead

Buratai said this on Thursday in Enugu.

About 10 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra were reportedly killed when troops opened fire on them during the agitation for the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in February.

There were also reports that about 30 other members of the group sustained serious injuries during the incident.

The Amnesty International had condemned the development, accusing the army of ‘excessive use of force’ against the pro-Biafran activists.

Fielding questions from journalists on Thursday after addressing officers and men of the 82 Division, in Enugu, Buratai said the army was investigating the alleged extrajudicial killings.

“We are already investigating it. When such incidents involve the loss of lives, we usually conduct an investigation – that is our procedure,” the army chief said.

Buratai, however, said he believed soldiers could not have opened fire on the activists without provocation.

He said, “We have our rules of engagement, the troops cannot just open fire.”

Earlier, while addressing officers and men of the military formation, Buratai said the army’s rules of engagement permitted the use of force, where other measures failed to address a security challenge.

Instructing soldiers on the need to be professional in the discharge of their duties, Buratai said, “We have to ensure that we work within the framework of our rules of engagement.

“You know that the rules of engagement provide for the protection of human rights, especially the protection of innocent citizens.

“But in situations that entail the use of fire, the protection of human rights does not apply.

“So, when you apply the rules of engagement and it is necessary to open fire, human rights will not apply.”

The COAS stressed that both the 1999 Constitution and the Armed Forces Act provided for the use of force when necessary.

Buratai also told the soldiers to be ‘decisive’, in order to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

“You must apply the rules of engagement and also be decisive – you have to be professional in the discharge of your responsibilities,” he said.

The army chief stressed the need for loyalty and patriotism among soldiers.

“You must make the President proud because he is behind us,” he added.

In the same vein, he urged the soldiers to protect and assist the families of their colleagues who were on military campaigns.

Biafra: Army investigates extrajudicial killings in Aba

Court okays shielding of witnesses in Kanu’s trial

Justice James Tsoho of a Federal High Court in Abuja is on Monday allowed the proposed prosecution witnesses lined up by the Federal Government to testify behind a witness screen ‎against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

The judge dismissed the objection by Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Chuks Muoma (SAN), ruling that the request by the Federal Government for its witnesses to testify behind a witness screen did not amount to revisiting the court’s earlier ruling prohibiting the ‎prosecution witnesses from wearing masks.

He upheld the argument of the prosecution led by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Diri, that the screen would only shield the witnesses from the members of the public present in court.

He said the use of the screen would not prevent the judge, the accused persons and lawyers to the parties to see the witnesses while testifying.

A witness screen is a device positioned to shield a witness from seeing the accused in the courtroom.

The court also dismissed the request by Muoma that the court should discharge and acquit its witnesses because the prosecution failed to produce its witnesses to enable the trial to commence on Monday.

The judge ruled that ‎the provision of section 351(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act‎ 2015 relied on by the defence to ask for the quashing of the charges, did not apply to the circumstances of the case.

According to the judge, the court can only dismiss the charges against an accused person who is present in court when the complainant in the case is not represented in court.

The court fixed Wednesday for trial to commence.

Court okays shielding of witnesses in Kanu’s trial

Biafra: Court rules on FG’s witness protection application 2pm

Justice James Tsoho of a Federal High Court in Abuja will at 2pm today deliver his ruling on the application by the Federal Government seeking protection of its prosecution witnesses lined up to testify against the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

Kanu, and his two co-accused – David Nwawusi and Benjamin Madubugwu – are being prosecuted on six counts of treasonable felony, unlawful possession of firearms and other offences bordering on their agitation for secession ‎of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria.

The prosecution, by its application, seeks an approval of the court for its witnesses to wear mask while testifying and an order barring members of the public apart from parties, lawyers and accredited journalists from attending the trial.

Justice Tsoho entertained arguments for and against the application on Friday and indicated to return to deliver his ruling by 2pm.

At the hearing of the application, prosecuting counsel, Mr. David Kaswe, told the court that government’s witness had expressed fear about their security and that they were unwilling to testify if they were not guaranteed any form of protection.

Kaswe said, “Our application before this honourable court is to allow our witnesses most of whom are civilians residing in the geographical entity of the defendants.

“Our submission is that our witnesses that we intend to call have already expressed fear of insecurity.

“They categorically informed us that unless, they can be guaranteed some form of protection by this honourable court they are unwilling to come and testify.

“We submit with greatest respect that the case of the prosecution will be greatly frustrated in the event that the witnesses are not protected and they cannot come to court.

“The court is to do justice and there will be no justice of prosecution witnesses cannot come to court.

“We are very unambiguous in our application that accredited members of the press should be allowed to come in. They can be allowed to cover the proceedings. That simple application before the honourable court.”

While acknowledging that the there was the need for the judge to watch the demeanour of the witnesses while testifying, Kaswe said that could still be achieved without the judge seeing the face of the witnesses.

But in opposing the application, defence counsel, Mr. Chuks Muoma (SAN), said that granting the application was tantamount to allowing “masquerades” to testify in court.

He said, “But Section 36(4) of the Constitution referred to in paragraph 2.07 of our written makes no provision for masquerades to testify as witnesses in a trial.

“An accused person under our jurisprudence and justice administration, must be confronted with his accusers eyeballs to eyeballs.

“It is consistent with common sense and jurisprudence that you cannot to accuse someone in the street and try him in the bedroom.

“I must confess that in my 45 years of legal practice, I have not witnessed this.

“You malign a man in the public and you seek to try him in the bedroom and have masquerades to testify against him.”

Muoma also argued the prosecution could only have brought such application if the accused persons were charged with terrorism offences.

But the Federal Government’s counsel in his response on points of law, said the submission by the defence was erroneous, arguing that section 232(4) paragraph (e) of the ACJ Act gave the court the discretion to grant protection to prosecution witnesses‎.

Ruling on the application has been fixed for 2pm.

Biafra: Court rules on FG’s witness protection application 2pm

Biafra: Over 1,000 of our members killed since Kanu’s arrest, detention - IPOB

BIAFRA: IPOB, MASSOB deny alleged seizure of merchant ship by members

Biafra: Why court denied Kanu, others bail

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, gave reasons why the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is answering to a six –count treason charge, should not be released on bail pending the determination of his trial. Kanu who has been in detention since October 14, 2015, is facing trial alongside two other pro-Biafra agitators, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

They were in the charge that was signed by the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Mr. Mohammed Diri, alleged to have committed treasonable felony, an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. FG alleged that the defendants were the ones managing the affairs of the IPOB which it described as “an unlawful society”.

Specifically, Kanu, who is also the Director of Radio Biafra and Television, was alleged to have illegally smuggled radio transmitters into Nigeria, which he used to disseminate “hate broadcasts”, encouraging the “secession of the Republic of Biafra”, from Nigeria. The trio however pleaded not guilty to the charge on January 20, even as the trial judge, Justice John Tsoho, ordered their remand at Kuje prison pending ruling on a consolidated bail application they filed through their lawyer, Chief Udechukwu Udechukwu, SAN.

In the bail request dated January 14, which was predicated on the provisions of sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 constitution, as amended, and sections 158, 159 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, the defendants, insisted that all the allegations levelled against were bailable offences. Relying on the decided case-law in Ibori vs FRN, they urged the court to exercise its discretion in their favour considering that the law presumes them innocent until when their guilt is established.

Counsel to the accused persons maintained that his clients would not interfere with the witnesses if released on bail, adding that the statement of the defendants showed that they did not commit any crime, but were only agitating for their right to self determination under the African Charter for Human Peoples’ Right and the UN charter. Udechukwu, SAN, pleaded the court to grant the defendants bail on most liberal term since the charge against them does not attract capital punishment but  the federal government, through a counter-affidavit it filed before the court, vehemently opposed the bail application.

The government urged the court to refuse the defendants bail, stressing that Kanu, who it said enjoyed large followership, was likely to continue operating Radio Biafra, if released from detention. FG further contended that the 1st defendant would not likely surrender himself for trial and could escape from the country since he has dual citizenship. The prosecutor told the court that Kanu hitherto operated Radio Biafra from the United Kingdom before his arrest, adding that he has the capacity to interfere with the witnesses who it described as “civilians dwelling within the area the defendants operated”.

Ruling on the application yesterday, Justice Tsoho denied the defendants bail, just as he okayed their accelerated trial. The Judge insisted that though the law permitted him to exercise his discretion in deciding whether or not the accused persons should be released on bail, he stressed that such discretion ought to be exercised “judicially and judiciously”. Justice Tsoho noted that the charge against the defendants “is a grave one that will attract severe punishment upon conviction”, adding that it carries life imprisonment.

More so, the judge maintained that the right to personal liberty of any individual takes secondary place once the issue of national security is involved. He observed that the defendants had in an affidavit they deposed in support of their bail application,  averred that they have a right to agitate for self determination. “The situation as perceived by this court is that there is conflict of interest between the applicants who insist that they have a right to agitate and the respondent (federal government)  which argues that it has the responsibility to maintain peace and order.

“Personal liberty of an individual within the contemplation of section 35 of the 1999 constitution is a qualified right that is not absolute. It can be curtailed in other to prevent a person from committing further offence. “Section 35 cannot be used as a canopy to escape lawful detention by persons suspected to have committed serious crime”, the Judge held He said that the government tendered sufficient materials that showed that the defendants were not entitled to bail, adding that the accused persons did not controvert issues FG raised against them in its counter-affidavit.

“By virtue of the case summary, list of witnesses and statements of the defendants, it is evident that the activities of the defendants were inimical to national security”, Justice Tsoho added. He said the broadcast of Radio Biafra was aimed at causing disaffection that could lead to breach of peace in the country. “It is my candid view that the three defendants/applicants are not entitled to bail. I accordingly order that they should be detained in prison custody pending their trial”.

The court yesterday fixed February 9, 10, 11 and 12 to commence full-blown trial of the accused persons. Prior to the ruling, a mild drama took place in the court, as two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN, locked horn over who should represent the defendants. The controversy was ignited by a handwritten letter that Kanu personally addressed to the trial Judge from Kuje prison. In the letter, Kanu insisted that the lawyer, Udechukwu, SAN, who argued his bail application, was not the person he briefed to handle the matter on his behalf.

He told the court that Chief Chuks Muoma, SAN, was the lawyer he chose to defend him in the matter. Sequel to the development, Chief Udechukwu, SAN, who decried what he termed “the biggest embarrassment since my 20 years in the inner bar”, withdrew his appearance and that of another SAN in his team, Chief Joe Agi, for the defendant. Muoma. SAN, convinced the court to go ahead and rule on the bail application that was argued by Udechukwu, saying “my lord this is a domestic issue that we intend to sort out later”.

Biafra: Why court denied Kanu, others bail

Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu sacks own lawyer

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has asked that the lawyer who served as his lead counsel in previous sittings, M. U. Udechukwu, step down for Chucks Muoma.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

Mr. Kanu wrote to the court, ahead of Friday’s sitting, asking that there should be a change in his representation.

Mr. Kanu is facing charges of treason. The court is to rule on his bail application today.

In the letter, read during a dramatic session, the judge, John Tsoho said he was asked to change Mr. Kanu’s lead counsel, because according to Mr. Kanu, the person who represented him in previous sittings was different from the person he had instructed.

When lawyers announced their appearances, Mr. Udechukwu told the court that he had been informed of the letter, saying he would immediately stand down for Mr. Muoma to continue the case.

But Mr. Muoma said he was surprised that Mr. Udechukwu had raised the issue so early.

He said he had told Mr. Udechukwu that there was a letter to that effect, but that he should first complete the bail application he was handling, before withdrawing.

In his reaction, Mr. Udechukwu insisted on handing over the case, because the letter said he had impersonated the lead counsel at previous hearings.

Mr. Udechukwu said impersonation, a serious offence, could affect his legal profession of almost 20 years.

He therefore prayed the court to record his apology for the said offence, and that the court should note that he was withdrawing from the case.

The judge, Mr. Tsoho, who had earlier hesitated to read the letter, regarding it as an issue that should be resolved by the counsels, asked to know the name of the particular counsel he would record for Mr. Kanu.

Mr. Muoma told the court that he and Mr. Ejiofor would take the place of the defendant’s counsel.

Mr. Udechukwu told the court that his withdrawal would affect the other counsels who came with him.

Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu sacks own lawyer

Police arraign 10 suspected Biafra agitators in Rivers

THE Rivers State Police Command said it had arraigned 10 suspected pro-Biafran protesters at the Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, disclosed that the suspects were arrested between January 16 and 18, 2016, were taken to court on Wednesday.

Mohammad explained that the suspectes were arraigned before Magistrates’ Courts 7 and 14 on a two counts of criminal conspiracy and treasonable felony.

He identified the suspects as Onu Ifeanyi, Prinace Onwazor, Princewill Anyanywu, Sunday Egbim and Uzoma Onyegbu.

Others, according to the state police spokesman, are Chigozie Moses, Chukwudi Enyidau, Anthony Ochuel, Enam David Okon, and Friday Nwahiri (all males).

A statement signed by Mohammad and issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, read, “Ten suspected pro-Biafra protesters arrested between 16-18/01/2016 has on Wednesday 20/01/2016 been arraigned before Magistrates’ Courts 7 and 14 in Port Harcourt on a two counts of criminal conspiracy and treasonable felony.”

He added that the suspects were arrested on their way to Port Harcourt to allegedly engage in an act that could undermine public peace.

Mohammad disclosed that that the suspects were expected to appear in court again after the cases against them were adjourned till Thursday and January 28, 2016.

The PPRO warned that the Command would not allow any person to violate the laws of the country by engaging acts that would breach the peace in the state.

“The Command wishes to further re-emphasise that it will not stand idly and allow any person or group of persons to violate the laws of country by engaging in conducts that are perilous to public peace and order as well as the lives and property of other law abiding citizens,” Mohammad stressed.

Police arraign 10 suspected Biafra agitators in Rivers

Court sends Biafra Boss, Nnamdi Kanu to prison

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in prison custody.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

Justice James Tsoho made the order on Wednesday after Kanu, who has since October 14, 2015 been in the custody of the Department of State Service, was arraigned along with two others on charges of treason and others bordering on his agitation for the secession of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria.

Kanu was arraigned along with two others – Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.

‎The judge in ordering the remand of the accused in prison overruled the request by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Mohammed Diri, for an order further remanding the accused persons in the custody of the DSS.

The ruling of the court ordering Kanu’s remand came as a relief to the defence team, led on Wednesday by Mr. Chuks Mouoma (SAN)‎, who had complained that the accused persons had been denied access to their families and lawyers since their arrest by the DSS on October 14, 2015.

‎Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Service since  October 14, 2015, the day he was arrested in a Lagos hotel, on the allegation that he was plotting the secession of Rpublic of Biafra from Nigeria.

The accused persons all pleaded not guilty to all the six counts preferred against them

Court sends Biafra Boss, Nnamdi Kanu to prison

Biafra: 8 IPOB members killed, 30 wounded, 26 arrested

…as group defies police order to protest in Delta, Abia, Enugu states

Judge fails to show up in court over Nnamdi Kanu’s case

Cleric denies appointment as Biafra INEC commissioner

It was a theatre of confusion, yesterday in Aba as eight  members of the the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were allegedly shot dead by the military during their  peaceful protest over the continued detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, according to  the spokesman of IPOB, Emma Powerful .

Biafra Protest

The Director of Radio Biafra, Mr Kanu was supposed to appear at  the Federal High Court Abuja, yesterday, but the much awaited case was adjourned due to the absence of the judge.

The adjournment came as a shock to IPOB members, who gathered at the court premises and its environs early yesterday morning waiting to see their leader, but were sadly shocked when it was announced that the case had been postponed indefinitely.

No formal communication was made to the lawyers of the detained Biafran activist and no reason was given as to why the judge was absent from the court.

It would be recalled that the case was assigned to a new judge, Hon. Justice John Tsoho,  after many weeks of searching for a judge. It  is  also not yet clear whether Justice John Tsoho abandoned this case as his  colleague, Justice A. Mohammed  did sometime in the past.

The case has been adjourned to  January 21, amidst  speculation that another judge might be appointed for the controversial trial.

The members and sympathizers of the leader of IPOB were gathered eagerly waiting to get a glance of the leader, but were shocked when it was announced that the court date had been adjourned.

The action of the judge appeared  to confirm the speculation  that no judge would want to get involved in this case as their judgment may not be respected by the Department of State Services,DSS, and the Federal Government.

Protests in Delta, Enugu, Abia

Biafran fear dead

Irked by the development, the  IPOB, yesterday, defied directive of the Police on the ban of public protest/procession and staged a peaceful protest in Asaba, the State capital, Enugu and Abia over the continued detention of the Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu by operatives of the DSS.

The protesters in Delta, who marched from Abraka Motor Park through Nnebisi Road to Okpanam Road from about 12 noon to 3:30p.m., caused serious traffic grid along Nnebisi Road as commuters, who were taking their wards from school and other road users were stranded for several hours.

Speaking to Vanguard, the Delta State Coordinator of IPOB, Jonah Chukwuma, called on the Federal Government to immediately release Kanu and grant freedom to the Biafra people.

His words: “We are protesting for the release of our director, our leader, Nnamdi Kanu, that the ‘zoo’ people are still holding. Let them release him now . Secondly, let them grant us our freedom because we cannot be slaves forever.

“We are tired of staying in this country called Nigeria; we want our own country, which is Biafra, that is what we are agitating for. We are peaceful people, we are non-violent. As you can see, our rally is a peaceful one. We are protesting so that the whole world will hear our voice.”

On why they were protesting in Asaba, Chukwuma said: “We are protesting in Asaba because Asaba is part of the Biafra land. We have about 25 states that make up Biafra and as I speak to you now, the protest is going on in these states, including Abuja.”

The group also,  yesterday, lashed out on the Abia State Governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and his Rivers State counterpart, Chief Nyesom Wike for their alleged directive to the security agencies in the two states not to allow them carry out their protest.

Abia, Rivers govs are impositions

Addressing newsmen in Nnewi, IPOB Media and Publicity Officer, Mr. Emma Powerful said the two state governors are simply seeking for the political relevance they cannot get from the All Progressives Congress, APC, led government of President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that in spite of the police threats and some governors’ directive to prevent them from holding their protests, they held combined protests in Abia, Delta and Enugu states.

He said he is not surprised about the comments of the two governors because they belong to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and are not popular candidates in their states.

“They were imposed on their states and may be planning to defect to APC by making comments that will make them look sympathetic to the APC government  so as to retain the seats they are on the verge of losing.

Aba boils over killings

The Aba killings, according to our correspondents,  were triggered off when the Uchenna Madu faction of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, clashed with a combined team of soldiers and policemen.

The pro-Biafra groups, who had ordered markets, banks, schools and other business centres to close shop in solidarity with their protest, converged at the National High School, on Port Harcourt Road, Aba, from where they attempted to march and enforce the order, but were quickly dispersed by soldiers and policemen.

The protesters later converged at the Asa Road and the Main Park area where they made bonfires and road blocks on Asa and St. Michael’s roads by Mosque and York streets, which obstructed traffic, leading to another confrontation with the security agents.

Shops including banks which had opened for business hurriedly closed their shops while the roads were deserted.

It was also observed that security was beefed up at the Ariaria Police Division to ensure that the pro-Biafra protesters did not burn the station, while soldiers were stationed at Milverton, Azikiwe/Asa and Port Harcourt by Ngwa Road junctions where they ordered passers-by to raise their hands.

Vanguard gathered that the protesters earlier confronted the soldiers at Port Harcourt Road which led to the death of one of their members. In a similar clash around the St. Michael’s Road area, a bystander, Chidozie Okafor, was also hit by a stray bullet and he died before he could receive medical attention.

Speaking on the situation, MASSOB National Welfare Officer, Jude Chukwu, said the protest was peaceful until soldiers and policemen came and started shooting and using tear gas. He added that over 30 members of pro-Biafra protesters sustained bullet wounds and are being treated in various hospitals.

According to him: “The protest was peaceful until soldiers and policemen started shooting. As I’m talking to you, eight of our members have been shot dead. They should stop killing our members.. We  are only protesting for the release of our detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu.”

When contacted, Abia State Police spokesman, DSP Ezekiel Onyeke, who disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Habila Joshak, had been in Aba monitoring the situation, toldVanguard that 23 men and three women were arrested during the protest and urged parents to warn their children against criminal activities.

Onyeke, however, said he was not aware that anybody was shot dead during the protest, adding that security agents even heard gunshots from the protesters.

Delay tactics , a ploy to kill Kanu —Group

However, a  human rights group, Campaign for Democracy, CD, South East Zone had again called on the Federal Government to release the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu from detention, based on the four orders of both the Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate court and the Federal High Court 6, Abuja Division.

Chairman of CD in the zone, Uzor Uzor, who spoke to newsmen on phone, yesterday, in reaction to the allegation that court did not sit to deliberate on DSS’ fresh treason charge against Kanu, said the executive arm of the government should not disobey either the legislative or judicial arms of government.

Uzor said it was very dangerous for the executive to disobey the judicial arm by refusing to release Kanu as ordered by the courts, adding that the implication was that the executive is now showing executive lawlessness, which is counter-productive to democracy and the rule of law.

He accused the Federal Government of applying delay tactics in handling Kanu’s matter, probably as a systematic approach towards killing him in detention.

He said that they would not be scared of killings or arrests until Kanu is released and Biafra is restored.

Cleric disowns Uwazurike’s appointment

In a new development, a Catholic  priest, Reverend Father Samuel Aniebonam, who was last week, named as the chairman of Biafra Independent Electoral Commission, B-INEC, to conduct and supervise the internal election for offices in his newly -formed Biafra Independent Movement, BIM, had dissociated himself from the appointment, describing it as a spurious  publication linking him with the Biafra struggle.

In a statement made available to Vanguard in Awka, Aniebonam said he was surprised that Uwazurike could make such appointment without seeking his approval and urged the general public to disregard it.

Biafra: 8 IPOB members killed, 30 wounded, 26 arrested

Biafran agitation borne out of ignorance, frustration - Obasanjo

The renewed agitation for Biafra yesterday came under attack from former President Olusegun Obasanjo who dismissed it as a product of error,ignorance and frustration.

Olusegun Obasanjo

Obasanjo who said he ‘very cautious’ in  getting involved in any debate or conversation with “the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), its many hydra-headed iterations and its resurgent Biafra agitation” said : “at best, the agitation was at regional level and that no inadvertent helping hand should be lent to it, to make it national.”

He spoke at a Development Discourse  organised by Nextier Limited on the Biafra issue Abuja.

Reading from his  prepared speech and speaking extempore at times,the former President said it is also wrong to say that the South East  is marginalised in the scheme of things.

He hailed  South-East leaders who,at a stakeholders’ meeting on December 17, 2015 dismissed the Biafra agenda and called for improvement in their region’s socio-economic situation.

He advised them  to ensure sanity among their youth.

“No right-thinking person who has experienced the horror of war will ever agitate for more war… If the elders abdicate their responsibility to the immaturity, inadequate experience, unrealistic idealism and the frustration of the young, it will no doubt lead to disaster.

“Biafra as a secession issue is dead and nobody should follow that way. It can again, only lead to disaster.

“The devil finds work for idle hands and fills empty minds; there is even some suspicion that the agitators embarked on the act in order   to extort   money from outsiders and to also extract financial support from the government.

“The commercialization and exploitation of Biafra agitation is obscene to the point of criminal fraudulence; or, how do you explain the issuance of Biafran passport that takes no one anywhere and for which unwary people are being charged exorbitant prices.

According to Obasanjo, Biafra agitation is “a hopeless and fruitless exercise on which nobody in seriousness should embark”.

“Proffering solutions, the ex-President stated that the resurgent Biafra agitation should be treated as “a cry for attention, amelioration and improvement of socio-economic conditions” of South East youth and their counterparts in other parts.

“Above all, good governance at all levels is the key solution. The welfare and well-being of the citizenry with equity, justice and fairness must be the main pre-occupation of government at all levels”, he added.

On alleged marginalisation of the Igbos,he said: “When I became an elected President, an Igbo man was made the minister of finance;an Igbo man was made the governor of Central Bank;an Igbo man was made the minister of transport.

“One day some people came to me and said that the civil war is not over yet and I asked why. They said since the end of the civil war no Igbo man has been the minister of Defence and explained to them that what matters is the service chiefs and we have had Igbos in that position. And I appointed Thompson Aguiyi- Ironsi  (as Minister of State for Defence).”

Biafran agitation borne out of ignorance, frustration - Obasanjo

Why Kanu apologised to Buhari, others – Lawyer

A lawyer to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, Mr. Vincent Obetta, has said “there is nothing irregular” about the apology tendered by his client to President Muahammadu Buhari, former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for his “uncomplimentary” comments against them.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

Obetta was earlier quoted in online reports as denying that his client tendered such apology as exclusively reported by The PUNCH.

But the lawyer, in a statement which he sent to our correspondent on Thursday, explained that what he denied on behalf of his client was speculation that Kanu had written letters of apology to Buhari, Jonathan and Igbo elders.

He confirmed that Kanu tendered the apology in his statement to the Department of State Service on realising that some of the things he said against Buhari and others were uncomplimentary considering the culture and values of the African society.

He said, “I denied the ruse making the rounds that my client apologised via a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, former President Goodluck Jonathan and some Igbo elders.

“I also challenged any reporter to forward to me a copy of the written letter addressed to the President et al. I still maintain my ground that my client Mazi Nnamdi Kanu did not address any letter of apology whatsoever to Buhari, Jonathan and Igbo elders.

“However, I am aware that in the course of making his statements to the SSS (DSS), he acknowledged the fact that certain words he used on these persons/elders during his broadcast were ‘uncomplimentary’ considering the culture and values of the African society to which he belongs.

“He further stated that he might write a letter of apology to the President to express his regret over the use of such words on him. But up until this moment, such letter, to my knowledge, has not been written. And I challenge anybody that has a copy of such to make it public.”

The PUNCH had reported that Kanu in an October 23, 2015 statement which he made to the DSS, expressed regrets for referring to President Buhari, as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile in a broadcast on Radio Biafra.

The PUNCH had however reported that the 48-year-old pro-Biafra agitation leader, who has been in the custody of the DSS since his arrest in Lagos on October 14, 2015, was unapologetic in his statement about his demand for a Republic of Biafra.

Why Kanu apologised to Buhari, others – Lawyer

Biafra: Why I can’t release Kanu – Buhari

ABUJA—President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday, explained why he cannot release leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

The President disclosed that Kanu has two passports, one Nigerian, one British and came to the country without using any passport.

President Buhari

President Buhari also made a robust defence of the integrity of all 36 ministers in his cabinet challenging anyone with a contrary view to present evidence against such a minister.

Speaking in his first media chat, the president said the first gains of the war against corruption would become evident by the end of March, next year, even as he accused erstwhile National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) of having allegedly committed atrocities against Nigeria through reckless disbursement of billions of government funds.

The president made his first dismissal of the agitation for Biafra stating that Igbo were in strategic position in the cabinet including holding the petroleum and labour portfolios besides the stewardship of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

President Buhari also assured of the administration’s readiness to implement the N5,000 monthly transfer to vulnerable Nigerians even as he said the campaign promise did not emanate from him but from his then running mate, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. He also frowned at the allocation of N47.7 billion for the purchase of vehicles by the National Assembly even after the lawmakers had collected car loans from the government.

The president, who expressed his readiness to negotiate with any credible leadership of the Boko Haram sect for the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls also disclosed his readiness to consider a ban on the use of hijab should the trend of bombing through young veiled girls continue.

Noting the dire economic conditions facing the country, President Buhari was, nevertheless, against the immediate devaluation of the naira even as he revealed that N1.5 trillion had been recovered into the federation account through the implementation of the Treasury Single Account.

The president also spoke on the fate of the Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, saying that he had allowed the Kaduna State government and the military authorities to take the lead in the investigations. He affirmed that the cleric had over time overstepped his bounds to the distress of the communities he lived.

On the panel that interviewed the president yesterday were Kayode Akintemi, Channels TV; Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbulam, Media World International; Munir Dan Ali, Daily Trust and Ibanga Isine, Premium Times.

On the ministers

“I don’t think I tolerate corruption, I don’t think I picked anybody that I know will embarrass my government. But if you have any evidence about any of my ministers, I accept responsibility for the 36 ministers that I have.

“I don’t think I took anybody among the ministers who has got a case in court. Tell me one out of the 36. I don’t think I will deliberately make that mistake.”

Asked if he would sack any of the ministers if he or she is charged to court for corruption, he said:

“No, I will insist that the case go through the courts.”

On the location and condition of the Chibok girls, he said he would be prepared to negotiate with credible elements in the Boko Haram leadership if there is precise intelligence that could help return the girls to their parents. He, however, affirmed that presently he did not superior intelligence on the fate of the girls.

“We are still keeping our options open. If a credible leadership of Boko Haram can be established and they tell us where those girls are, we are prepared to negotiate with them without any pre-condition. This we have made absolutely clear. But while they are keeping the Chibok girls, they must not get away with the idea that we will not attempt to secure the rest of Nigeria.

“We have no firm intelligence on where they are physically and what condition they are in. But what we believe from our intelligence, they keep taking the girls around, they are not keeping all the girls in one place, we don’t know how many divisions they made of them and where they are.

On the crisis in Kaduna involving followers of the Shite leader, Sheikh El-Zakzaky, he said:

“I expect the Kaduna State Government to set up a judicial inquiry because it happened in Kaduna, in one of the cities and it has been there for the last twenty years from what I have been reading from papers. They will occupy a federal highway, sometimes from Kano to Kaduna. This is what I heard.

“We have a system of investigation, the military that was involved too have a tradition of investigation and I am the head of the federal government, I have to wait for the official report before I can come out as head of the federal government and make a statement. So I am allowing the Army and the Kaduna State government to submit their report of inquiry. Meanwhile it does not mean that the police, the SSS and other directorate involved are not doing their own part of constitutional role.

Frowning at the activities of the group, he said:

“Unfortunately it is very serious. How can any group proclaim statehood in a state? I don’t want to speak about it in details now, I better leave it still after the report of the inquiry but there are a number of clips I saw, where some excited teenagers were visually hitting the chest of a general, mounting road blocks and threatening them with missiles.

On the contentious issue of subsidy, the president said that by the end of the next quarter that there would be no more talk about subsidy in the price of petroleum.

Money recovered

“Money has been recovered but whatever we recover, has to end up in court because I feel personally that Nigerians are entitled to know the truth and the truth will be what the court has discovered by the submission made to them in terms of documentation and the documentation includes the bank statement of where our money was lodged, when it was lodged and how much. Whether it is petrol from NNPC or Customs and Excise or money directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

Told that he was limited in his disclosure of his assets, the president said that he had declared his assets at least four times in the past.

The president expressed reservation on proposals by the National Assembly to commit N47.7 billion to purchase new vehicles after members had collected car loans from the government.

N5,000 monthly stipend for the less privileged

“When my VP was quoted, how can I come here and disown it? First, I believe in getting facts, how many are involved? How are we going to do it? Is it state by state or geo-political zone by geo-political zone? In trying to get the bottom of the problem, a lot of work has to be done and if it is undertaken, we have to look at it very well.”

On Dasuki, Kanu and others

Asked on the alleged flouting of court orders by the state on the issue of Dasuki and detained Biafran agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, he said:

“Technically, if you see the kind of atrocities those people committed, if they jump bail? I am sorry to say this publicly…the former president just wrote to the governor of the CBN and said give N40 billion to someone while you have two million Internally Displaced Persons, what kind of country do you want to run?

“The one you called Kanu, do you know he has two passports? One Nigerian, one British and he came to this country without using any passport? Do you know that he brought sophisticated equipment into this country and started broadcasting for Radio Biafra? There is a treasonable charge against him and I hope the court will listen to the case.

Biafra and marginalisation of Ndigbo

“They say they are marginalised but they have not defined the extent of marginalisation. Who is marginalising them? Where? Do you know? Choosing a minister is not a matter of ethnicity, it is a matter of the constitution. I am limited by what the constitution says that there must be a member of the executive council from each state. There is a lot of partisan politics in it. Who is the Minister of State for Petroleum? Is he not an Igbo? Who is the governor of the CBN? Is he not an Igbo? Who is the Minister of Labour? Who is the Minister of Science and Technology? What do they want? I stood elections and I won, I am limited by the constitution, I have a member of every state in the Federal Executive Council and I have to listen to them when I sit as chairman. That is the limit the constitution gave me”.

Biafra: Why I can’t release Kanu – Buhari

Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu apologises to Buhari, Jonathan

THE leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has expressed regret for referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile in his radio broadcasts.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

Kanu, who has been charged along with two others by the Federal Government before a Federal High Court in Abuja on six counts of treason and other ancillary offences, said he intended to write a private letter to Buhari to express his apology to the President.

He also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for “some uncomplimentary things” he said about them.

The 48-year-old pro-Biafran agitation leader, who is, however, unapologetic about his demand for a Republic of Biafra, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since his arrest in Lagos on October 14, 2015.

He tendered the apology for his comment against Buhari and others in a statement which he made to the DSS on October 23.

The prosecution, in its summary of the case, alleged that in one of the radio broadcasts by Kanu on August 1, 2015, he expressed his resolve to actualise the Republic of Biafra and “cast aspersions on the person and the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

The statement read in part, “Reference to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile is regrettable and uncalled for and for that, I unreservedly apologise and will be doing so in a private letter to the President.

“Before PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) there was the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. I also said uncomplimentary things about him and Igbo elders as well, which I now recognise should not have happened because it is un-African to be rude or insolent to elders.

“All I was trying to do is to draw attention to the problems afflicting society and something done about them.”

Kanu, who described himself as a Nigerian and a British citizen, justified his agitation for a Biafra Republic.

He said IPOB’s secessionist agenda was informed by the “incessant hardship, lack of holistic development in the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, lack of youth employment, corruption in high offices and economic regression.”

He added that the agitation by IPOB, which, according to him, was founded in London in 2012 by a group of people from the South-South and South-East regions of the country, was in line with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by African countries, including Nigeria.

In contrast to the counts of managing and assisting in the management of an unlawful society preferred against Kanu and two others, the Radio Biafra founder stated that IPOB, which the prosecution described as unlawful, was registered with the UN to pursue the rights of the people of Biafra.

He stated, “I can confirm that I, Nnamdi Kanu, is the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra worldwide as a legitimately and duly registered body at the United Nations pursuing the rights of a specific indigenous people, in this case, Biafra, to seek self determination according to the said charter.

“The reason for the formation of the Indigenous People of Biafra is to avail those referring to themselves as Biafrans the opportunity made available as a result of the United Nations declaration to seek the peaceful rebirth of Biafra in line with international law.”

Kanu, who is a son of a traditional ruler in Abia State, Sir I.O. Kanu, said he operated Radio Biafra, whose programmes “are designed to wake up the public from its slumber and address the issues of the time” because of his belief in free speech and freedom of expression.

He explained that the intended Biafra Republic comprised Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states as well the Igbanke part of Edo State; Igala part of Kogi State and Idoma/Igede part of Edo State.

Apart from Kanu, one of the two other defendants in the six counts filed by the Federal Government is a Field Maintenance Engineer, David Nwawuisi, charged with the responsibility of maintaining MTN masts in Enugu State.

The other defendant, Benjamin Madubugwu, was said to be living in the Ubilisiuzo, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he allegedly received custody of a container, housing transmitters, from Kanu.

On December 23 during the accused persons’ appearance in court for their scheduled arraignment, Kanu refused to take his plea due to what he called his lack of confidence in the presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed.

The judge promptly returned the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, for reassignment to another judge and the three accused persons were returned to the custody of the Department of State Services.

The fresh charges were filed against the three men barely 24 hours after Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in a ruling on Kanu’s bail application on December 17, ordered his unconditional release from DSS custody having been detained for about two months without any valid charges filed against him.

The PUNCH had reported that the Federal Government had alleged that transmitters for Radio Biafra, spreading secessionist agenda for carving out Biafra region from Nigeria, were found to be installed on MTN masts in Enugu and Anambra states between April and May 2015.

No new date has been fixed for the arraignment of the accused persons.

Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu apologises to Buhari, Jonathan

FG files six new charges of treason against Nnamdi Kanu

Delta Pro Biafra declares support for Uwazuruike led BIM

Corruption propels Nigerian politicians to pretend loving Nigeria —Uwazuruike

Rights group condemns police roadblocks, extortion in S’East

By Festus Ahon, Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Nwabueze Okonkwo & Francis Igata

The Federal Government has filled a fresh six-count charge of treason and managing the affairs of ‘an unlawful society,’ against the embattled leader of  Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

Kanu was charged before the Federal High Court, Abuja alongside two others, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.

MASSOB, IPOB accuse Obiano

Meanwhile, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and  Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, which were the arrow-heads of the agitation for the release of their detained leader and Director, Radio Biafra, Nnamadi Kanu, have accused Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State of alleged collusion with security operatives to kill, maim its members, who were last week, jubilating over the bail granted their leader by a Federal High Court, Abuja.

Also, pro-Biafra agitators in Delta State, yesterday, declared support for the leader of the Biafra Independence Movement, BIM, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, describing him as a non violent messiah.

In the fresh charge, the trio were accused of committing treasonable felony, an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, when the matter came up before Justice Mohammed, yesterday, neither the prosecuting counsel nor the accused persons  were present in court.

However,  Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor announced appearance for the defendants, even as he queried the seriousness of the Federal Government to prosecute the matter.

Ejiofor insisted that the fresh charge was nothing but a ploy by the government to ensure the continued detention of the accused persons, especially Kanu, who was earlier granted bail by the same high court.

Nevertheless, Justice Mohammed, explained that though the matter was slated in the court’s cause-list for mention, yesterday, he said it was obvious that the prosecution was not notified.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

The judge therefore, adjourned the case, saying a date for the arraignment of the accused persons would be communicated to all the parties.

Meanwhile, there was heavy police presence  around the court premises yesterday.

Fresh charge

In the fresh charge, FG, alleged that the three accused persons were the ones managing the affairs of “an unlawful society,” the IPOB.

The charge read, “That you, Nnamdi Kanu and other unknown persons, now at large, in London, United Kingdom, between 2014 and September, 2015, with intention to levy war against Nigeria in order to force the President to change his measures of being the President of the Federation, Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation as defined in Section 3 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by doing an act to wit: Broadcast on Radio Biafra your preparations for the states in the South- East geo-political zone, South-South geo-political zone, the Igala Community of Kogi State and the Idoma/Igede Community of Benue State to secede from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and form themselves into a Republic of Biafra, and thereby committed an offence punish- able under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

It will be recalled that Justice Ademola Adeniyi of the same high court had on December 17, ordered the “unconditional” release of the IPOB leader, Kanu, from the custody of the Department of State Service, DSS.

Kanu who is also the Director of Radio Biafra and Television,   was on October 17, arrested in Lagos by security operatives, shortly after he arrived Nigeria from his base in the United Kingdom.

Pro-Biafra agitators in Delta State in a communique, meanwhile, at the end of the enlarged meeting of BIM, in Asaba, the state capital,  who are from lgbo speaking axis, condemned violent approach to the agitation.

The communiqué by the zonal Leader of the group, Chinedu Amaifeobu, said Uwazuruike’s led BIM shines out among the numerous groups currently processing the crusade for the autonomous state of Biafra.

They frowned at all accusation levelled against Uwazuruike, saying he was the authentic freedom fighter for the agitation.

Also, MASSOB, and IPOB in statement in Enugu yesterday, by MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu said, “We hold Governor Obiano responsible for the killings, arrest, torture, maiming and wounding of non violent, peaceful IPOB,MASSOB members in Ontisha jubilating over the news of Nnamdi Kanu’s court release order.

“Anambra State in Nigeria where members of MASSOB, IPOB demonstrated, protested or jubiliated because of Nnamdi is not the only state in Nigeria. We have not recorded any killings, harassment, massive arrest, clampdown, shootings, torture and unguided statement but only in Anambra State.

“During Obiano’s condolence visit to Hausa residents in Onitsha over the touching of Mosque by sponsored hoodlums, Obiano sympathized with them without mentioning or commiserating with non violence Biafran agitators killed, arrested and tortured by security agents. He tactically supported them to clampdown and disperse non violence MASSOB,IPOB members.

“This executive order prompted and motivated the Army to kill, maim, arrest our members in Ontisha, including those killed on the day of jubilation.”

Meanwhile, leader of BIM, Uwazuruike, yesterday, attributed corruption as a major factor propelling  politicians to pretend that all was well in Nigeria, even when the country was in a state of despair.

He decried the level of corruption in high places in government in the country and regretted that Nigeria was the only country in the world where leadership offered political leaders the best opportunity to steal public funds and go scot-free.

Corruption propels Nigerians

In his goodwill message during the end of 2015 BIM security meeting at Mgbago, Umueri in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State,  Uwazuruike stated that some politicians were ready to die for one Nigeria only because of the opportunity the country offers them for horrendous stealing, not because Nigeria holds any bright future for their children and children’s children.

Uwazuruike whose message was delivered by BIM’s Deputy National Director for Information, Chris Mocha, expressed concern that Nigeria would continue to have problems because of persistent failure of her leaders to tell masses the truth, stressing that nobody sees himself as a Nigerian.

According to the Biafran leader, “Nigerians see themselves as Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Kataf, Tivs, Ijaws, among others, and that is why the Yoruba sentiment will always protect their own sons who looted Nigerian treasury, that is also why the Arewa sentiment will do the same for any Hausa/Fulani leader who stashed away public money and that is why the Igbo sentiment viewed a call to probe any of their own kinsmen who stole Nigerian money as a witch-hunt.”

He lashed at the leaders for pretending that all was well with Nigeria when indeed the country was burning and emphasized that in Biafra land there will be no room for corruption.

 Rights group condemns police road blocks, extortion

Meanwhile, a civil society group, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, yesterday raised alarm over what it identified as re-emergence of police roadblocks and high level of extortion from motorists in the South East geo-political zone of the country, accusing the extortionists of using pro-Biafran peaceful protests as a cover.

Intersociety said the return of police roadblock extortion points in June 2015 in Nigeria, as ordered by Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, particularly in the Southeast zone, which reached its peak in October 2015, had further made mockery of the doubtful anti-corruption policy of the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

In a  statement, yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State, the group said findings from its recent zonal investigation in the South East, factually disclosed that there were at least 750 police roadblock/ extortion points mounted and maintained by IG led police on federal, state and intercity roads in the zone.

“Of the minimum of  750 police roadblocks/extortion points currently stationed on Southeast soads; there are 200 in Anambra State, followed by Abia State with 200, Imo State with 150 and Enugu and Ebonyi States with 100 each. Of these five states, Anambra and Abia are most illicitly lucrative; owing to their commercial environmental nature. They are followed by Imo,  owing to its strategic link between the two states. Enugu and Ebonyi States are lesser owing to their white-collar or civil service environmental nature.”

The statement by  its Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said “Most of the police roadblock/extortion proceeds from Enugu and Ebonyi States come from highway and inter state road users, particularly users of Enugu-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Nsukka-Oturkpa, Enugu-Abakiliki, Abakiliki-Okigwe and Abakiliki-Ogoja Roads as well as inter-State Roads within the two states.”

FG files six new charges of treason against Nnamdi Kanu

5 killed, 7 injured as IPOB, MASSOB clash with JTF in Onitsha

DSS drops charges against Kanu in lower court

A Magistrate Court in Abuja has discharged the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, following the withdrawal of the charges proffered against him by the Department of State Services on Wednesday.

Counsel to the accused, Vincent Obeffa, told Channels Television that with the court’s ruling, the accused has no criminal cases against him in Nigeria or anywhere in the world and as such, he is a free man.

He said all processes to secure his release are currently being cleared.

Mr Kanu was standing trial on a three count charge of criminal conspiracy, intimidation and belonging to an unlawful society, allegations the prosecutor had withdrawn.

Meanwhile, ruling on the prosecutor’s application for the matter to be taken up at the Federal High Court, will be delivered on Thursday.

DSS drops charges against Kanu in lower court