Expdonaloaded News; Protest escalates in Anambra

Members and supporters of the Indepen­dent People of Biafra (IPOB) contin­ued their public protest yesterday in Anambra over the detention of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu and demand for the sovereign state of Biafra.

Thousands of the pro­testers mostly dressed like refugees marched along the Bridge Head area of Onitsha before proceeding towards Awka old road causing se­rious traffic gridlock in the process.
Though the protesters were orderly and peaceful in their conduct, travelers com­ing from Awka were trapped along Abagana-Ogidi road for several hours as the large number of the IPOB mem­bers blocked the major road.
Security agents stationed at various strategic points were on red alert to prevent any outbreak of violence.
An IPOB member, Celes­tine Ezeuko who spoke with Sunday Sun said that they decided to dress like refu­gees to reflect the true posi­tion of the Igbo man pres­ently in the Nigerian project.
He said that Ndigbo had no bearing under the Federal Government of Nigeria and had continued to be the sac­rificial lamb at every point in the Nigerian project even as he reiterated that allowing them have freedom would be the answer.
Meanwhile condemna­tion has trailed the reported killing of two people in last Friday’s public protest by IPOB.
The Civil Liberties Or­ganisation (CLO) in a state­ment issued yesterday in Onitsha described the kill­ings as senseless and wicked act against unarmed and de­fenceless people.
The CLO blamed the act on the proliferation of armed group and vigilance squad in Anambra state and described a situation where people with unstable minds and character bear arms at will in Anambra as a time bomb ticking to explode.
The organization called on the state government to commence immediate steps on disarming the large num­ber of armed guards operat­ing in the state while ensur­ing that the families of the murdered victims should be given adequate compensa­tion.