A summit convened by the Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, in Enugu was on Tuesday disrupted by pro-Biafra agitators.
At least eleven members of the pro-Biafra groups were later nabbed by the police within the Independence Layout Area of the State.
DAILY POST gathered that the agitators made up of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, the Biafra Zionists Federation, BZF, among several others, forced the event to an abrupt end.
It was gathered that the agitators got annoyed when issues of restructuring of Nigeria took the centre stage instead of their clamour for Biafra.
The event was also expected to have been used to honour late Owelle Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mrs. Margaret Ekpo, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi and a host of others.
The organizer of the event and Founder of the Igbo Youth Movement, Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu- Uko said that the aim of gathering was to discourse the restructuring of the country as well as honour disserving Igbo, living or dead.
However, when Amechi began to talk about the need to restructure the country into six zones, the Biafran agitators began to interrupt him, saying that they did not want to hear anything about Nigeria.
Hell was let loose when Ugochukwu- Ukor announced that it was time to give a post-humous award to Dr. Azikiwe for his contributions towards national development.
As soon as Zik’s name was mentioned, the Biafran agitators rose in condemnation of Zik’s efforts to keep the country united, just as they blamed the late nationalist for the current travails of the Igbo in the country.
As the crowd became restive, Ugochukwu-Uko threatened to deal with any trouble maker in the hall but his utterances angered the agitators the more and they descended on the people on the high table and in the commotion that ensued, they removed Prof Amucheazi’s red cap from his head and his eye glasses.
Some of the leaders ran helter-skelter as their cars were stoned leading to the shattering of the wind shields.
Apparently, not satisfied with scattering the event, the mob chased journalists out of the venue before moving to the streets of Enugu metropolis, where they blocked roads, displaying the photographs of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
They condemned restructuring, saying that they would not settle for anything other than Biafran Republic.
However, as they were matching, the police confronted them in front of the Presidential Hotel, by firing tears gas canisters on them.
Convener of the event, Comrade Eliot Ugochukwu-Uko, who confirmed that he abruptly ended the event owing to the charged atmosphere created by the Biafra agitators, fingered the leadership of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo over the incident.
Uko told journalists that “initially, I didn’t want pro-Biafra groups to be at the event; but Uchenna Madu called me and enquired whether they should come. I said no; Nnamdi Kanu’s group also called me, I’m friendly with them, because I have never openly attacked them. I didn’t want them to come.
“But later, I spoke to one of the Igbo elders, he said, let them come; the more the merrier; let them come and see what we are doing. Three days to the event, I agreed that they should come.
“So, when the event started today, I was acknowledging various groups, they wrote note passed to me that Biafra Zionists are here in their numbers, that I should acknowledge them; I said they should patient.
“The genesis is that the Ohanaeze President, Chief Nnia Nwodo wanted to be here too, but I said no; so, I was aware that they will set traps for me. He even asked Ayo Adebanjo to call me, but I said no, that he is in dispute with these children and I don’t want to be joined in their issues.
“Nnia Nwodo called me again, I went to his house with Maria Okwor; he requested that I should bring these boys to him so that he can reconcile with them, that they are insulting him so much. I told him that I don’t want to get involved. He promised to do a lot for me, I said no, that I want to continue doing my own things.
“So, I’m aware that Nwodo is not happy with me because I said he should not attend the event; therefore, they will set traps for me.
“These are the same people who were insulting me over 20 years ago when I started championing the issue of restructuring; but today, every group or the other has one committee on restructuring; so, I’m no longer a mad man.
“All over the world, they know me as an apostle of restructuring, but in the earlier days, I was called a mad man.
“So, I was expectant that they were planning for me today; when Uchenna Madu was mounting pressure on me that they want to come, I was curious.
“Now, today, like I said, they demanded that they should be given opportunity to talk; I was reluctant because I didn’t know what they will say. While issues of restructuring were being discussed, they started interrupting, that they want Biafra not restructuring; I said, ok, so this is what they want to say in my event.
“The next thing was that they started asking, ‘where is Nnamdi Kanu’, that he is their leader, that their leader should be here. I knew that I had problem in my hand. They now started noise, security asked them to leave the hall, they refused. They started asking me where is their leader, asking me whether he was dead. I asked them whether I was the one that took their leader.
“So, I had to dismiss the event, because I did not want to have fracas here or a situation where someone will hijack my event.”
While denying inviting the police, he said those responsible for the invitation were behind the mask, stressing that “I don’t know whether anyone was shot; police did not come into the venue of my event; so, whatever happened outside town, I don’t know about it.”
The Enugu State Police Commad’s Police Public Relations’ Officer, PPRO, SP Ebere Amaraizu, while confirming the incident said eleven members of the pro-Biafra group were arrested.
He told DAILY POST in a statement that “no fewer than eleven persons suspected to be members of the outlawed Biafran group were nabbed by the Enugu State police command operatives today 27/2/12 in the morning around Universal hotel axis of the Independent layout Enugu.
“They were nabbed based on intelligence information gathered which guided the operatives on the successful operations carried out.
“Those arrested are helping the operatives in their investigations in relation to their alleged nefarious activities and will be arraigned properly in a law court after investigations are concluded.”
He enjoined members of the public in the State “to be law abiding, security conscious and also partner with the police to ensure that the state continues to maintain the tempo of being safest and secured.”
Efforts made to obtain reaction from the leaders of the Biafra agitators were not successful as of the time of filing this report.
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