….Demands release of Kanu, El-Zakzaki, Dasuki, others
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leadership worldwide have urged the Great Britain to prevail upon President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressive Congress (APC) party to obey the court orders and respect the rule of law in the Nigeria.
The group called on the Nigerian government to immediately release its leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, and other IPOB members as well as Sheikh El-Zakzaki, former CSA Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and other political detainees or else Nigeria will continue the slippery slide towards the abyss.
A statement by the Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Mr. Emma Powerful, described as appalling that a supposedly civilised country like Britain, at the forefront of upholding standards in human decency, could exhibit so much bias when it comes to the issue of upholding the rights and dignity of the indigenous populations in Biafra.
IPOB”s statement read in parts: “Another example of British bias is the events surrounding the illegal detention of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and their unwillingness to challenge the flagrant disobedience to legally binding judicial pronouncements. We at IPOB are compelled to ask if Britain is not aware that court after court of competent jurisdiction in Abuja has ordered the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu but the Buhari’s government still refuses to obey the law”.
“Britain has never held Buhari’s Government accountable for the many breaches of court rulings in Kanu’s case. The killing of unarmed members of IPOB even during the solidarity rally in support of American president Mr Donald J Trump on 20th January 2017 in Igweocha (Port Harcourt) River state did not draw a rebuke from the British Government has not drawn any condemnation from Britain”.
“It is unfortunate that Britain have steadfastly refused to hold Muhammadu Buhari to the same level of high standards expected of other heads of governments around the world. Britain should therefore prevail upon Buhari and his APC party to obey the court orders and respect the rule of law in the Nigeria they created. Detained IPOB members, Sheikh El-Zakzaki, Dasuki and other political detainees should be released immediately or else Nigeria will continue the slippery slide towards the abyss”.
“The British government should come out openly to tell the whole world what the good people of Biafra did to them since they amalgamated Nigeria to warrant such wickedness. We Biafrans as a people, were the first to assimilate British culture by answering English names and adoption of Christianity as the main religion, yet Britain is never pleased with Biafra”.
“Such overt expression of hatred by the civilised British Government leaves much to be desired, if we consider the media and public uproar that greeted the news of the Tinamen Square massacre and mass arrest of pro-democracy activists in China”.
“Britain was also vocal in pointing out the human rights limitations of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility for Islamic terrorists. Why can’t Britain be so equally vocal in condemning human rights abuses when it comes to the issue of Biafra, or is it because Biafrans are not Muslim”
“It is shocking that a First World country of the stature of Britain have persistently refused to openly condemn the frequent public slaughter of countless innocent IPOB members by Nigerian Army.
Powerful continued: “What is the difference between pro-democracy demonstrators in China and IPOB activists asking for a democratic Biafra that Britain, through its office of the High Commissioner to Nigeria, have steadfastly refused to condemn the killings and human rights abuses under the Buhari administration”.
“There is something morally repugnant about a supposedly civilised first world country keeping mute in the face of such state sponsored barbarism and brutality executed by Lt-General Turkur Buratai. The silence of Britain, considering their immense influence as the creators of Nigeria, in the face of such savagery makes us wonder how and for what reason Britain developed such pathological hatred for everything Biafra. The only crime IPOB seem to have committed is to ask for self determination the same way SNP in Scotland and Sein Fein in Northern Ireland is demanding for self rule” the group wondered.
“We have not read or heard of the British Government sending the SAS or the Parachute Regiment to storm the homes of Nicola Sturgeon and other Scottish nationalists in the middle of the night to arrest and charge them with treason. Neither have we heard of mass executions of Scottish or Irish people during pro-independence rallies”.
“Why therefore would Britain hide behind the lame excuse of maintaining the territorial integrity of Nigeria, to condone such massive killings of unarmed peaceful civilians, whose only crime is to ask for the same thing that Scottish and Irish nationalists are asking for” IPOB queried.