Expdonaloaded News; MASSOB defies FG, shuts down Ebonyi

IN what looked like total dis­regard for the order by the Federal Government directing them to end their activities, the Movement for the Actualisa­tion of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) yesterday shut down Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, as they marked 16 years of their struggle. The event was also staged in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and La­gos State The MASSOB members in their thousands held Biafra Day celebration in the three senatorial districts of Ebonyi, calling on the international community to intervene in their battle with the govern­ment.
Addressing journalists yes­terday in Abakaliki, MAS­SOB Zonal Leader for Ebonyi North, Gideon Iloke and his Ebonyi South and Central counterparts, John Nwifuru and Moses Eze respectively said the celebration was to thank God for sustaining them in the struggle for self-deter­mination they began in 1999. They said the struggle for the actualisation of the sover­eign state of Biafra had been tough in the face of alleged intimidation and harassment by the Federal Government. They claimed government’s opposition to Biafra had led to the death of their members. Also, at a thanksgiving service held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish in Port Harcourt, members of the group said they were hope­ful of achieving the sovereign state of Biafra. Regional Administrator of MASSOB for Eleme region, Mr. Longinus Duruoha, said they had a reason to celebrate, because the United Nations (UN) had recognised the Bill of Rights MASSOB submit­ted in 2001. Members of the group in Lagos, however, asked the Federal Government to stop harassing their leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and mem­bers of the movement. The group warned the gov­ernment not to see its non-violent approach to issues as cowardice. Leader of MASSOB in zone B, Eze Calistus regretted that rather than security agents concentrating on defeating Boko Haram, they were busy harassing MASSOB mem­bers, whom he insisted were non-violent in their agitation for Biafra. The Enugu East zonal chap­ter of the MASSOB has said the recent arrest of members and invasion of the residence of their leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike in Imo State, would not deter them from their struggle. In a statement issued in Enugu at the weekend, MAS­SOB’s Director of Informa­tion for the zone, Mr. Antho­ny Ogbodo, condemned the recent attacks on the pro- Bi­afra group, which he insisted has remained peaceful in its activities. Ogbodo said: “We are not happy with recent develop­ment, where our members were arrested, molested and the residence of our leader in­vaded by the police. We don’t use knives, we don’t also use guns; yet, they keep intimidat­ing our members with security agents. Nobody can try this in the West or Northern parts of the country and we are saying that enough is enough.” Ogbodo, however, said the movement would not be de­terred in the struggle for the realisation of Biafra, warn­ing that further attempt to in­timidate or molest members would be resisted.