Tony Okafor, Awka
The Indigenous People of Biafra on Sunday backed the three-month quit noticed served on Igbo living in northern parts of the country by Areas youths.
In a press statement made available to our correspondent in Awka by IPOB’s media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, the group commended the northern youths and Arewa Elders forum for somewhat quickening the Biafra exit by their pronouncements.
The group maintained that the quit notice had a human face unlike previously when the people perceived as Biafrans would be attacked without any notice or provocation.
It said IPOB would prevail on Igbo living in the north to adhere to the quit notice.
Their statement read in part, “The members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leadership worldwide wish to sincerely thank the Arewa Elders Forum(AEF), Arewa Youths and Arewa Consultative Forum for seeing sense in what IPOB has been saying about the need for a referendum to be conducted in Nigeria to decide the fate of the component ethnic nationalities criminally lumped together by the British in 1914.
“Biafrans in general also wish to thank these vocal Northerners for at least having the courtesy to issue advance warning this time before embarking on their routine massacre of Igbos and other Biafrans living in Northern Nigeria; unlike what their fathers did in 1966 when death, destruction and mayhem were unleashed upon unsuspecting innocent civilian populations from the South comprising of mostly Igbo men, women and children.
“Igbo massacres in Northern Nigeria has occurred so many times that it has almost become some sort of an annual sporting activity for blood thirsty Northern youths. That is why we are particularly grateful to Arewa Youths and Elders for having the decency to give us prior notice before the slaughter commences.
” We promise to adhere to your warning to leave Northern Nigeria because a word is enough for the wise. Biafrans and other Southerner should start packing their properties to come down to the South.
“We also advice the Northern youths and their Elders to keep it on because all they have done is to exercise their right to free speech which is not a crime under any law known to man.
“We are therefore against those calling for the arrest of these Arewa Youths and their Elders.”
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